A SECONDARY school music teacher has been charged at the Sessions Court in Klang with multiple counts of alleged physical sexual assault involving underage students, after he pleaded not guilty to all 14 charges read against him.
The accused, Idi Johan Mohd Zohdi, 45, entered his plea after the charges were read before Judge Sharifah Hascindie Syed Omar.
According to the charge sheet, he is alleged to have committed various acts of physical sexual assault against six 15-year-old female students at different locations, including a classroom, music room, mathematics room, a music equipment store, a residential house and a vehicle in Sekinchan and Sabak Bernam.
The alleged offences are said to have taken place between January 2025 and February this year.
The charges were framed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, read together with Section 16(1) of the same Act, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years’ imprisonment and caning upon conviction.
He also faces additional penalties under Section 16(1), which provides for a further prison term of up to five years and a minimum of two strokes of the cane if found guilty.
During proceedings, deputy public prosecutor Nor Suhaili Abu Bakar informed the court that bail should not be offered. However, she proposed that if bail were granted, it should be set at RM20,000 for each charge, together with conditions that the accused not contact or harass the victims and report monthly to a police station.
Defence counsel Datuk Mohd Imran Tamrin applied for a reduction in bail, stating that his client has dependents, including a wife and a school-going child, and has no prior criminal record.
“He added that the accused, who has served as a teacher since 2002, has never faced any disciplinary action throughout his career.”
The court subsequently allowed bail at RM30,000 for all charges combined, subject to the additional conditions requested by the prosecution.
The accused was also ordered to surrender his passport to the court.
The case has been fixed for further mention on July 30. - June 8, 2026