A 35-year-old man with a disability pleaded not guilty at the Butterworth Sessions Court today to allegedly sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl at a mosque earlier this month.
The accused entered his plea before Judge Rohaida Ishak.
He is accused of sexually assaulting the girl at Masjid Jamek Haji Abdul Latiff in Permatang Pasir, near Butterworth, at about 4pm on Sept 3.
The charge was brought under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Wan Amira Ruzaini Wan Abdul Razak did not offer bail, citing the seriousness of the alleged offence and the young age of the victim.
However, National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer Naqieya Zulkernain, who represented the accused, applied for the minimum bail amount.
She told the court that her client had a speech disorder, was unemployed and relied financially on his self-employed brother, who had no fixed income.
“The risk of the accused absconding is minimal as he came to court on his own and fully cooperated with the police,” she said.
The court subsequently ordered the accused to be sent to Hospital Bahagia in Tanjung Rambutan, Perak, for a mental health assessment and set Oct 14 for the case to be re-mentioned.
