KUALA TERENGGANU, Sept 4 — A male teacher today pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court, here, to four counts of sexually assaulting his 14-year-old male student.

Mohd Hamdi Hanafi, 47, a Physical Education teacher at a secondary school near here, is accused of committing the assaults against the student in a car at Jalan Pantai Sura, and in a house in Dungun, on August 3 and 10, 2023.

The charges are framed under Section 14(a) and Section 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for imprisonment not exceeding 20 years and subject to whipping, if convicted, also read together with Section 16 (1) of the same law, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years and no less than two strokes of the cane, upon conviction.

Judge Nazlyza Mohamad Nazri allowed the accused to be bailed at RM60,000 for all charges, with the additional conditions that the accused is prohibited from contacting prosecution witnesses and the victim during the trial, and reporting to the police station every month.

The court fixed October 6 for re-mention. — Bernama