An unemployed man was sentenced to eight months’ jail by the Magistrate’s Court in Kuala Lumpur today after he pleaded guilty to molesting a 14-year-old schoolgirl.

Magistrate Mohd Faizal Ismail ordered Mohd Nazri Nordin, 33, to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest on April 23.

The accused was charged with using criminal force with intent to outrage the student’s modesty at the Jalan Genting Klang overhead bridge in Wangsa Maju at 7.30pm on April 23.

He was charged under Section 354 of the Penal Code which provides imprisonment of up to 10 years or a fine or whipping or any two of the penalties, upon conviction.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Noorelynna Hanim Abd Halim urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence in view of the increasing number of sexual assault cases.

Mohd Nazri, who was unrepresented, appealed for a lighter sentence on the grounds that he was single and has an elderly, ailing father to care for.

- Bernama