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KOTA BARU, April 7 ― A labourer pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today to five charges of abusing four children at a welfare centre where his wife was working.
Mohd Hamdan Yasin, 38, made the the plea after the charges were read out to him before Judge Ahmad Bazli Bahruddin.
On four of the charges, he was charged with committing physical sexual assault on three girls, aged between nine and 13 years-old, at the welfare centre between April 2019 and September last year.
All the charges were framed under Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides an imprisonment for up to 20 years and liable to whipping, if found guilty.
On the fifth count, Mohd Hamdan and his wife, Nor Adila Zakaria, 35, who was the caretaker of the centre, were charged with abusing a 13-year-old boy at the centre on March 17 this year.
The couple, who has two children, aged one and 12 years, pleaded not guilty to the charge, framed under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act.
Mohd Hamdan was not allowed bail, while his wife was allowed bail of RM15,000 with one surety and also ordered to report herself at the nearest police station once a month.
The court set May 10 for mention.
Deputy public prosecutor Hajarul Falenna Abu Bakar prosecuted, while the couple was represented by lawyer Zuhaidie Akmal Hasan Basri. ― Bernama