KUALA LUMPUR: A 56-year-old man was charged in two separate Sessions Courts in Ampang here with six counts of sending 33 nude photos of a four-year-old girl via Whatsapp in February and March.
Self-employed Zaulkefli Ahmad, who was in purple prison clothing, pleaded not guilty to the offences before judges Suzana Hussin and Azrul Darus.
The father of two was charged with sending the 33 explicit photos to the victim's 40-year-old mother who is an Indonesian and works as a maid.
The offences were allegedly committed at a house in Jalan Perdana, Pandan Perdana, here between Feb 23 and March 9.
Zaulkefli's charges under Section 8(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years and liable to whipping not less than three strokes, if convicted.
Deputy public prosecutors M.S. Arunjothy and Nor Hashimah Hashim did not offer bail as it was a non-bailable offence.
Arunjothi submitted that it was a serious offence as it involved a child and the accused was not charged with one count, but several.
"I submit bail should not be given to the accused as it is a serious offence and the photos were sent to the victim's mother," she said.
Bail was not granted.
Zaulkefli's case will be up for mention on May 10.
It was reported on March 10 that a four-year-old girl had suffered serious bleeding on the head as a result of being abused by an acquaintance of her mother in Pandan Perdana here.
The victim was then rushed to the Ampang Hospital by two men while she was unconscious and while receiving treatment, the victim was found to have wounds on her forehead, chest and legs believed to have been the result of being abused.
Initial investigations revealed that the two men, who claimed to be acquaintances of the victim's mother, also claimed that the victim experienced seizure while she was in the toilet and had fallen.
Police had said the mother, an Indonesian, had left the child with the suspect for him to take care of the victim while she was working as a maid at a house in Kampung Cheras Baru.