BALING, Oct 21 — Four teenage boys pleaded not guilty at the Children's Court today to charges of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Form Three student at a school in June.
The accused, aged 15 to 17, include one former and three current secondary school students. They were charged separately in a closed proceeding before Judge Rohaida Ishak.
Each one is accused of committing physical sexual assault on the teenage girl at the Becah Sawa oil palm plantation in Siong, as well as inside a classroom at a secondary school, on various dates in June, July, and August last year.
They were charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and caning, upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Amirul Halimi Md Salleh appeared for the prosecution, while the accused were unrepresented.
Following the proceeding, the prosecution informed the press that the teenagers had pleaded not guilty. The court then granted each accused bail of RM3,000 with one surety and set November 27 for the next case mention.
Previously, it was reported that three students and a former student from a secondary school had been arrested in connection with the sexual offence and the distribution of lewd material.
The police made the arrests after a 53-year-old parent alerted the school's disciplinary teacher that a video of the 15-year-old was being circulated.
