SEREMBAN: Celebrity preacher Azman Syah Alias, better known as PU Azman, was sentenced to seven years' jail and two strokes of the cane for physical sexual assault of two male minors two years ago.
Sessions Court judge Datuk Surita Budin also ordered the accused to undergo rehabilitation counseling for two years and police supervision for two years after the completion of the sentence.
The court meted out the sentence after Azman pleaded guilty to an amended charge read before Surita today.
The judge said she made the decision after considering various factors, including the fact that public interest outweighed the interests of the accused.
According to the charges, Azman had sexually assaulted the two boys, aged 16 and 17 at a house in Taman Tiara Sendayan in Nilai between 8.30pm on Feb 5, 2022, and 5am the next day.
His lawyer, Mohamad Zahid Ahmad, in mitigation, said his client's admission of guilt had saved time and costs for all involved in the case.
He said his client, a widower, pleaded for forgiveness and admitted to feeling remorseful.
The accused, he said, committed no other offences and had never been convicted of any crime in court before.
"The accused requests a minimal sentence from the date of bail, on Oct 9.
"He has been in jail since Sept 27 and until now is still serving his sentence over a charge in the Klang courts," he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Rasyidah Murni Adzmi, however, argued that an admission of guilt should not be a factor in reducing a sentence.
She urged the court to hand down a sentence which would serve as a lesson for both the accused and society at large.
"The accused is a celebrity preacher and the offence is something that no one, let alone a preacher, should do to children.
"The prosecution views this offence as not a trivial matter which should be taken lightly when deciding a sentence for the accused," she said.
On Sept 27, Azman was sentenced to 24 years' jail and two strokes of the cane at the Sessions Court in Klang after being found guilty of physical sexual assault of a 17-year-old boy two years ago.