Kota Kinabalu: Two stepfathers were charged separately with committing physical sexual abuse against their respective stepdaughters.
The men, aged 49 and 46, pleaded not guilty separately before Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus, to the charges against them.
In the first case, the 49-year-old man who worked with a contractor, is accused of committing the offence against the 11-year and 11-month-old girl by inserting his hands into the girl’s shirt for sexual purpose.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});The alleged incident happened between November and December 2020 between 8pm and 11pm at a house in Kinarut, Papar.
In the second case, the 46-year-old man who worked as a foreman at the Pan Borneo project, allegedly committed the offence against the 13-year-old girl by fondling her breasts at noon on March 6 this year at a bedroom of a house in Papar.
Both men were charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 which provides for a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping, on conviction.
The court set May 29 for pre-trial case management for both cases.
The 49-year-old man was released on bail of RM8,000 in two local sureties while the other man was offered bail of RM6,000 in two local sureties.
The court also imposed additional conditions to the men, namely to report to the nearest police station once a month, to not tamper with the prosecution witnesses especially the alleged victims and passports if any, to be impounded by court until the disposal of their cases.
The 46-year-old man was represented by counsel Datuk Rakhbir Singh while the other man was not represented.
In asking for bail, both the men informed the court that they were no longer staying in the same places with the alleged victims.
Meanwhile, in the same court, a 25-year-old man local who has no MyKad due to late registration, claimed trial to fondling the breasts of a 17-year-old girl.
Muhammad Asraff Iqram Arshad, who was represented by counsel Sylyester Kuan, is accused of committing physical sexual harassment against the girl at 3pm on Apr 16 this year at a rented room of a homestay in Papar.
His mention date would be on May 29 and bail was granted at RM8,000 with RM5,000 deposited in two local sureties as well as additional conditions like the ones imposed on both men.
During the proceedings, Sylyester told the court that the issuance of Muhammad’s MyKad is still pending but already in the process and due to that he also faced difficulties looking for a job.
Muhammad’s father who was also present in court also confirmed the matter that Muhammad is the sixth from 14 siblings.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Bryan Francis appeared for the prosecution.
