BATU PAHAT: A technician pleaded not guilty at the magistrate's court here today to abusing his six-week pregnant wife last month.
According to Berita Harian, Mohd Hasri Turaman, 40, who received psychiatric treatment seven years ago, entered the plea after the charges were read by an interpreter in front of magistrate Suhail Shafi'uddin.
According to the charge, the father of three allegedly caused intentional injury to his 34-year-old wife at their home in Taman Soga on Sept 29 at 1am.
The accused was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 326A. Section 323 provides for a penalty of one year in prison or a fine of up to RM2,000, or both, while Section 326A prescribes double the maximum prison term for a conviction under Section 323.
Based on reports, before the incident, the victim had asked for RM20 from the accused to return to her mother's house in Skudai. However, her request was ignored, along with the 20 phone calls she made.
Angered by this, the victim uploaded a post on social media, which was subsequently seen by the accused. Upon returning home, the victim was repeatedly assaulted by the accused before she received treatment at Sultanah Nora Ismail Hospital.
Deputy public prosecutor Farah Wahidah Mohd Sharip handled the prosecution, while the accused was represented by lawyer Anis Nur Atikah Abd Rahman.
The prosecution requested the court set a date for the trial and a bail of RM10,000 with one surety along with additional conditions.
The court then set Nov 13 for the submission of documents and allowed the accused to be released on bail of RM3,000 with one surety. The court also imposed additional conditions, which prohibited the accused from contacting the victim and prosecution witnesses.