SEREMBAN: A 43-year-old religious teacher pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to three charges of committing physical sexual assault against a child.
Mohd Hafidz Eshak claimed trial to the charges after they were read out to him before Judge Mohamad Kamil Nizam.
The accused, who wore a white robe and a skullcap, was charged with committing the offences at a house and a religious centre in Port Dickson.
Mohd Hafidz allegedly committed the acts against the girl in March, June and August this year.
The girl was 13 years and nine months old when the first offence was allegedly committed.
The suspect, who was the chairman of the religious centre, was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for a maximum jail term of 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Balkis Zunaidi then asked the court to fix bail at RM50,000 for each charge due to the serious nature of the alleged offences.
DPP Nurul Balkis, who was assisted by Noraziha Asmuni, also asked the court to order the suspect to stay away from the victim and to report to the nearest police station once a month till the case is disposed of.
However, counsel for the accused Datuk Hanif Hassan said the amount was excessive.
Hanif, who was assisted by Nur Haifa Husna Zuhaimi, said the court should also take note that the case was not related to the recent "Ops Global" where hundreds of children were rescued by the authorities from 20 homes in Selangor and Negri Sembilan.
There were allegations that the children had been abused, exploited and sexually assaulted.
"This case is totally unrelated.
"It is my hope that the court will set a low bail amount as the accused is a local and not a flight risk," he said, adding that he was representing the accused on a pro bono basis.
Hanif said RM6,000 was a fair amount for all three charges.
The accused, he said, was also innocent till proven guilty.
Hanif said the private centre where the accused was a chairman was a non-profit institute as it was run on public donations and some aid from the state religious authorities.
Judge Mohamad Kamil then fixed bail at RM12,000 with one surety for all three charges.
He also ordered the accused to stay away from the victim, to report at the nearest police station once a month and to surrender his passport, if he had one, to the court.
He fixed Oct 29 for mention.
At a Magistrate's Court in Port Dickson earlier, the accused had also claimed trial to a charge of molesting a teacher undergoing practical training at the same centre.
He allegedly committed the offence at the centre around 6.40pm on Aug 18.
The suspect was charged under Section 354 of the Penal Code, which provides a jail term of up to 10 years or a fine or whipping, or any two of the punishments, if found guilty.
He was allowed a bail of RM4,000 and ordered not to contact the victim or eyewitnesses.
The court fixed Oct 17 for case management.
