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A TEACHER has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of physical and digital sexual assault involving two teenage pupils before the Sessions Court in Setiu today.
Darusalam Ab Rahman, 42, entered his plea after the charges were read out before Judge Ahmad Fadhli Mahmud.
The accused faces five charges concerning a seventeen-year-old pupil and two charges involving a fifteen-year-old pupil.
Under the first charge involving the older youth, the accused allegedly committed physical sexual assault inside a vehicle parked outside an eatery in Kuala Terengganu at nine o'clock in the evening on the eleventh of May.
The second charge alleges that the accused committed an identical offence against the same victim at ten o'clock that evening inside a vehicle outside a house in Kampung Anak Ikan, Besut.
Both of these counts were framed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a maximum penalty of twenty years' imprisonment and whipping upon conviction.
The remaining three counts involving the seventeen-year-old pupil were brought under Section 12(1) of the same Act, which addresses child grooming through communication. For these offences, the accused is alleged to have sent three separate WhatsApp messages with the intent of facilitating physical sexual assault on the fifth, eighth, and tenth of May at varying times.
A conviction under this section carries a prison sentence of up to five years and whipping.
Regarding the fifteen-year-old pupil, the accused faces two charges preferred under Section 14(a) and Section 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
He is alleged to have assaulted the younger victim inside a secondary school toilet within the Besut district.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Akmal Mohd Jazlee led the prosecution.
Judge Ahmad Fadhli Mahmud granted the accused bail at twenty-two thousand Malaysian ringgit with one surety.
The court further imposed conditions requiring the accused to report to the nearest police station once a month and strictly prohibited him from interfering with any prosecution witnesses or other individuals connected to the case.
The court has scheduled the case for mention on the sixth of July at the Besut Magistrates' Court. - June 3, 2026
