PUTRAJAYA: An Arabic language teacher at a primary school failed to set aside his nine-year jail sentence and two strokes of the rotan for committing sexual assault on a 10-year-old boy six years ago.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, unanimously dismissed Mohd Shahril Shaffie's appeal to set aside his conviction and sentence. He will begin serving his jail sentence today.
Other members of the panel were Datuk Azmi Ariffin and High Court judge Datuk Noorin Badaruddin.
The court said the appeal had no merit as the victim's testimony in the case was supported by other witness statements.
The court said the Sessions Court, which heard the case, had reached a solid conclusion, which was affirmed by the High Court, while the nine-year prison sentence was reasonable and not excessive.
"We do not agree that the sentence imposed is excessive because the appellant was a teacher entrusted with educating children, but he abused that position.
"It is undeniable that the victim experienced trauma due to the incident, and the school, as an educational institution, was also affected.
"The offence is serious and we are not considering the appeal for conviction and sentencing. A committal order is issued and the sentence takes effect today," he said.
The Appellate Court also upheld the Sessions Court's order for the appellant to undergo rehabilitation counselling for eight years and to remain under police supervision for three years after serving the prison sentence.
Shahril was charged with sexually assaulting the boy by holding the victim's genitals for sexual purposes at his house in Subang Bestari, Shah Alam, between 12.15pm and 12.45pm on Nov 22, 2018, under Section 14 (a), which provides for imprisonment of 20 years and caning.
Earlier, the accused's lawyer Aqbal Shiffudin Adnan Sallehuddin in his argument questioned the victim's initial statement to his parents about the incident, which he claimed was inconsistent.
He argued that the victim described the incident as happening only once, at the teacher's house. However, the victim later told his father that it occurred twice — once at the teacher's house and once in his car.
Regarding the sentence, the lawyer argued that the nine-year term was excessive as the case only involved touching, not rape, and it was a single incident.
Meanwhile, Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Arif Aizuddin Masrom argued that the evidence in the case was overwhelming and the victim's testimony was consistent and supported by other witnesses.
"The victim's testimony remained consistent and unshaken, even under intense cross-examination by the defence lawyer.
"The victim was not only traumatised, but the incident also deeply affected both his parents, who were angry that their child was treated in such a manner," he added.