A school bus driver arrested for filming child passengers burst into tears after he was charged at the Muar Sessions Court this morning.

According to reports, the 24-year-old driver, who has 640,000 followers on TikTok, claimed trial to two charges under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 before judge Sayani Mohd Nor.

In the first charge, the man is accused of committing physical sexual abuse by kissing the cheek of an underaged girl - who is his four-year-old niece - with sexual intent between 5pm and 6pm on a school bus in Kluang, Johor from April until September.

For the offence, he was charged according to Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 punishable with a prison sentence of not more than 20 years and caning.

For his second charge, he is accused of committing a non-physical sexual offence by repeatedly “observing” a nine-year-old girl with sexual intent this month between 5pm and 6pm in a school bus at the same location.

This comes under Section 15 (a)(iii) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 which carries a prison sentence of not more than 10 years or a fine not exceeding RM20,000 or both.

In one of his TikTok videos, the driver referred to a child passenger as his “crush” and made comments about the children which many netizens found inappropriate.

In one video, he showed how he moved a primary school girl who fell asleep on the bus from a sitting position to a supine (lying down) position on the seat, stroked her face and removed her tudung (headscarf) while she remained asleep.

He also tried to wake her by fiddling with her lips using his fingers, prompting an outcry on other social media platforms but not on TikTok where he uploaded the videos.

Following this, Women, Family and Community Minister Nancy Shukri instructed the ministry’s Child Development Department to lodge a police report.

The driver was arrested on Sept 6 in Simpang Renggam.

RM30k bail

In court today, Johor state prosecution director Abdul Ghafar Ab Latif proposed a bail of RM50,000 for each charge.

He cited the public attention and backlash the case has received.

Ghafar added that since one of the victims is his niece, there should be an additional condition that the accused not disturb the victim, her sister and her mother, who are also prosecution witnesses.

However, the accused's lawyer, Umar Zulkarnain, appealed for a lower bail amount, as his client did not earn a regular salary as a school bus driver.

Sayani set bail at RM30,000 for both charges. She also scheduled Oct 10 for case mention and submission of documents.

Cops nab schoolbus driver who films child passengers

Cops nab schoolbus driver who films child passengers

Nancy orders action against schoolbus driver who films child passengers

Nancy orders action against schoolbus driver who films child passengers