A primary school teacher named Abdul Mutalib Hussain has been found guilty of sexual assault on 3 counts against his students, over 2 years ago.
2 separate Sessions Courts in George Town, Penang, have sentenced the perpetrator to a total of 24 years in jail and 6 strokes of the rotan (2 strokes for each offence).
According to reports, the 42-year-old religious teacher had preyed upon 3 of his pupils – boys aged between 8 to 10. The incidents took place between February 2017 and July 2018 inside a classroom in the school in Sungai Ara.
During the mitigation, Abdul Mutalib Hussain’s lawyer pleaded, “My client is a victim of sexual abuse himself in his younger days and hence it has influenced him. He is remorseful of his ways and wants to take the rightful path in life.”
Judge Norsalha Hamzah took into the account that this was the accuser’s first offence. “However, this is a very serious offence. The court hopes the sentence will serve as a lesson to you, and also serve as a deterrent to others not to commit the same offence in future,” she said.
Abdul Mutalib Hussain has since pleaded guilty to all 3 charges under Section 14 read together with Section 16 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
He is married with 5 kids.
Sources: NST, Malay Mail.
