TAWAU: A 43-year-old school bus driver was jailed a total of 15 years and ordered to be given four strokes of the cane on two counts of committing physical sexual harassment against a female student.
Session Court Judge Rosli Ahmad meted out the sentence to Musleh Mahmod, after the court ruled that the prosecution had proven it’s case beyond reasonable doubt against Musleh.
On the first count, Musleh was sentenced to eight years plus two strokes of the cane for committing the offence against the 14-year-old girl by sitting on the victim’s thigh.
On the second count, he was jailed another seven years and ordered to get two strokes of the cane for committing the same offence against the same victim by holding her hands.
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The court ordered Musleh to serve the jail sentences consecutively and his application for a stay of execution of the sentence pending appeal to the High Court against the decision, was rejected by the court.
Seven prosecution and three defence witnesses were called during the hearing which began on Nov 8, 2023.
During mitigation, counsel Samsuddin Sudirman who represented Musleh, asked for leniency saying that his client needed to support his family.
Samsuddin also asked for the sentence to be served concurrently.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Suhaimi Suryana urged the court to hand down a heavy sentence as the offence was a serious one.
Mohd Suhaimi said the court should take into account the trauma suffered by the victim.
He added that Musleh did not show any remorse for his wrongdoing and sympathy towards the victim.
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