JOHOR BARU: The school bus driver who uploaded a video of a primary school student and referred to her as his "crush", was charged with two counts of sexual assault in the Sessions Court today.
The 24-year-old accused, who was seen in tears, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to him before Judge Sayani Mohd Nor.
According to the first charge, the accused is charged with sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl, who is also his niece.
The act was carried out in a school bus in Simpang Renggam, Kluang, between 5 and 6pm, from April to September 2024.
This offence is under Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act (AKKSTKK) 2017 and is punishable according to Section 14 of the same act with a prison sentence of up to 20 years and also whipping.
As for the second charge, the accused is charged with observing a nine-year-old girl repeatedly for sexual purposes with this incident also occurring at the same time and place.
The second charge is under Section 15 (a) (iii) which is punishable according to Section 15 of the same act, with imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding RM20,000 or both.
At the proceedings, the man was seen crying from the dock.
The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutor Abdul Ghafar Ab Latif while the accused was represented by lawyer Umar Zulkarnain.
Earlier, the prosecution asked the court to impose a bail of RM50,000 for both charges as the case has received widespread public attention.
Abdul Ghafar said one of the victims is the niece of the accused who lives close to him and requested to court to impose additional conditions on the accused.
After hearing the arguments and appeals of both parties, the court allowed bail at RM30,000 with one surety.
At the same time, the court also set two conditions, namely that the accused must report to the nearest police station once a month, and not disturb or communicate with the victim or prosecution witnesses throughout the proceedings.
The court set Oct 10 for mention and submission of documents.
Last week, the man's TikTok account which displayed questionable behaviour was called out by concerned users on X.
The TikTok account, with over 600,000 followers, drew widespread attention for posting content involving school children paired with unsettling captions.
The public outrage spurred Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri to respond directly, denouncing such behaviour.