Appeals court upholds 10-year sentence on ex-tahfiz teacher for sexual harassment

Free Malaysia Today

4 days ago

The Court of Appeal said the sentence should serve as a deterrent to the public.
PUTRAJAYA : The Court of Appeal today upheld the 10-year prison sentence and two strokes of the rotan imposed on a former tahfiz school teacher for sexually harassing an 11-year-old student in a warden's room five years ago.
A three-judge panel led by Justice Azman Abdullah unanimously dismissed the appeal by Tengku Mohammad Khaireel Tengku Wahab.
The 32-year-old had sought to overturn the conviction and sentence handed down by the sessions court which was later affirmed by the High Court.
Azman said the case not only tainted the appellant's reputation as an ustaz but had left a lasting impact on the victim.
'The appellant should have been the one to prevent such incidents from happening. We find the 10-year sentence and two strokes of the rotan appropriate and not excessive.
'This sentence should serve as a deterrent to the public not to commit such offences. The appeal is therefore dismissed,' he said.
The others on the bench were Justices Noorin Badaruddin and Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Aznee Salmie Ahmad urged the court to uphold the sentence, describing the case as a serious breach of trust.
'The appellant abused his position as a warden and religious teacher to commit the offence in a room meant to be a safe space for students.
'Parents send their children to tahfiz centres to learn religion, not to be harmed,' she said.
Aznee added that the victim had shown courage by providing a consistent and detailed account to the authorities and during court proceedings against the accused, a person well-regarded within the school community.
She also submitted that the offence was not an isolated incident, but had allegedly occurred repeatedly against the victim over the course of the year.
The defence argued that the prosecution had failed to call a material witness – another student who was present in the room at the time of the incident.
However, the prosecution maintained that the testimony of its witnesses was sufficient to prove the elements of the offence.
The appellant was represented by Shuhairil Ziqrul Sapi and Rahiza Zulkifli.
On Dec 23, 2020, Tengku Khaireel was charged with two counts of physical sexual harassment.
The offences were alleged to have taken place on Dec 1, 2020, at a tahfiz centre in Kuantan.