The Sessions Court here today ordered a monk to enter his defence on a charge of raping a schoolgirl in an oil palm plantation in 2021.
Judge Harmi Thamri Mohamad made the ruling after finding that the prosecution had successfully established a prima facie case against the accused, Pechimuthu Vethumalay, 53.
Harmi Thamri said the decision came after the court heard testimony from witnesses, reviewed the prosecution’s written submissions as well as oral arguments and rebuttals from both sides.
“The court has thoroughly examined and evaluated all the evidence.
“The court is satisfied that the prosecution has successfully proven a prima facie case against the accused for the charge brought against him.
“Accordingly, the accused is called to enter his defence either by remaining silent, giving an unsworn statement from the dock, or giving sworn testimony,” he said.
The accused informed the court that he chose to give sworn testimony from the dock and would call four witnesses, including himself.
The court fixed 8 October for the defence proceedings and extended the earlier RM10,000 bail.
A total of six prosecution witnesses were called to testify during the trial.
According to the charge, the accused is alleged to have raped the 12-year-old victim (at the time of the incident) in an oil palm plantation along Jalan Yong Peng-Labis at about 3pm on 28 September 2021.
The charge was framed under Section 376(2)(d) of the Penal Code, which carries a sentence of up to 30 years’ imprisonment and whipping, upon conviction.
During today’s proceedings, the prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharifah Natasha Syed Ahmad, while the accused was unrepresented.
Based on a police report lodged by the victim’s mother, the incident allegedly occurred when the schoolgirl sought treatment from the monk to improve her academic performance.
Prior to that, the accused allegedly instructed the victim’s family to prepare clay lamps for a ritual.
The girl was then allegedly taken to the oil palm plantation under the pretext of performing the ritual before she claimed she was raped by the accused.
