A former principal of a religious boarding school, Abdul Hadi Harun, 37, has been sentenced to 112 years in prison and 32 strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to 16 counts of sexually molesting six male students aged 12 to 13.
The Sessions Court judge, Sayani Mohd Nor, delivered the sentence on Monday after weighing the prosecution’s aggravating factors against the defence’s mitigation plea.
The offences occurred between May and 29 June 2022, at the school’s toilets and at a residence in Batu Pahat, during early mornings and late nights. Abdul Hadi was charged under Sections 14(a), (b), and (d), read with Section 16 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017. Section 14 carries up to 20 years’ imprisonment and whipping, while Section 16 adds up to five years and a minimum of two strokes per count.
The case came to light on 30 June 2022 at 12:27 p.m., when school management reported allegations of abuse. Police investigation confirmed six victims, and Abdul Hadi was arrested at 9:45 p.m. the same day. He had reportedly threatened the boys to prevent them from disclosing the abuse.
Deputy public prosecutor Diyana Najihah Muhamed Fauzi handled the prosecution, while Abdul Hadi was represented by lawyer Mohd Razak Shariff.
The court sentenced him to five years per charge under Section 14, with an additional two years and two strokes per count under Section 16. With all sentences running concurrently within each section, the effective prison term is seven years.
The total number of cane strokes was capped at 24 in line with Section 288 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
