A 30-YEAR-OLD Myanmar hotel worker has been charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a three-year-old Australian boy at a food stall in George Town last week.
Aung Phyo Win pleaded not guilty and claimed trial after the charge was read to him in Malay before Sessions Court Judge Juraidah Abbas today.
According to the charge, the accused allegedly committed the offence against the three-year-old boy at Warung Penjaja, Lorong Baharu, at about 9.10pm on Aug 20.
He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Anuarul Hakim Abdul Muen appeared for the prosecution, while the accused was represented by lawyer K Mahendran.
At the outset of proceedings, Judge Juraidah asked the accused whether he understood Malay.
Aung Phyo Win told the court that he had worked in Malaysia for four years and was married.
Mahendran subsequently applied for bail, informing the court that two Malaysian citizens were prepared to stand as sureties for the accused.
He also said his client was prepared to comply with any additional conditions imposed by the court and that his passport had already been surrendered to the police.
However, Anuarul objected to bail, saying the prosecution had yet to receive confirmation that the accused’s passport was valid, despite the document being in police custody.
“Although the accused’s passport has been surrendered to the police, the court has yet to receive documentation confirming that the passport is valid. Therefore, the prosecution requests that the court not grant bail to the accused,” he said.
The court subsequently denied bail and fixed Sept 28 for the case to be mentioned again and for the prosecution to hand over the relevant documents. - August 26, 2026
