Kuala lumpur: The Court of Appeal here today upheld a 10-year jail sentence and two strokes of the cane imposed on a warden of a tahfiz education centre convicted of two counts of physical sexual assault on a male student, five years ago. A three-judge panel led by Datuk Azman Abdullah unanimously dismissed the appeal by Tengku Mohammad Khaireel Tengku Wahab, 32, against the conviction and sentence handed down by the Kuantan High Court on Oct 17, 2023.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the court found that the testimony by the victim, who was then 11 years and six months old, was credible, supported by his complaint to a doctor at a health clinic who treated him. “The victim cried when testifying at the Sessions Court. The accusation or complaint by the victim was against an ustaz (religious teacher) who taught him. It not only tarnished the name of the ustaz, but also had a personal impact on the victim,” Datuk Azman Abdullah stated.

Judge Azman, along with Datuk Noorin Badaruddin and Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, confirmed that the conviction against Tengku Mohammad Khaireel was correct and appropriate for both charges. Regarding the sentence, Judge Azman emphasized that the appellant, being responsible for preventing such an incident, warranted a sentence of 10 years in prison and one stroke of the cane for each charge, deeming it not excessive.

“This sentence should not only give fear to the appellant but also the general public so that they do not repeat the same offence. With this, we unanimously dismiss the appeal by the appellant and the High Court’s decision is upheld,” remarked Judge Azman.

Tengku Mohammad Khaireel faced charges on Dec 23, 2020, for two counts of committing physical sexual assault on the boy in the warden’s room of the tahfiz school’s dormitory. He was prosecuted under Section 14(a) and Section 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, with the incident occurring at 11.30 pm on Dec 1, 2020.

Initially, on Dec 20, 2022, the Kuantan Sessions Court sentenced him to eight years in prison and two strokes of the cane for each charge, with the prison sentences to be served concurrently. Following a cross-appeal by the prosecution, the Kuantan High Court increased the prison sentence to 10 years on each count, to be served concurrently, while reducing the number of whippings to one stroke for each charge.

Earlier, lawyer Mohd Shuhairil Ziqrul Sapi, representing Tengku Mohammad Khaireel, argued that the High Court erred in considering the victim as a credible witness due to the boy providing three different versions of the incident. He insisted that the testimony should have been scrutinized more carefully and noted the absence of testimony from two other child witnesses present in the room.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Aznee Salmie Ahmad defended the victim’s credibility, citing consistency in the victim’s testimony, which was corroborated by the doctor, the accompanying teacher, and the recording officer. “The victim was also emotional and cried while giving evidence in court about an ustaz who was respected in the school community. It was not fabricated but stemmed from trauma,” Aznee Salmie asserted, highlighting the breach of trust by the appellant as a warden at the tahfiz centre.