Physical sexual assault: Court upholds 10 years' jail, caning on tahfiz warden

The Court of Appeal today upheld a 10-year jail sentence and two strokes of the cane imposed on a warden of a tahfiz education centre convicted of two counts of physical sexual assault on a male student, five years ago.

A three-judge panel led by Azman Abdullah unanimously dismissed the appeal by Tengku Khaireel Tengku Wahab, 32, against the conviction and sentence handed down by the Kuantan High Court on Oct 17, 2023.

In the judgment, he said, the court found that the testimony by the victim, who was then 11 years and six months old, was not fabricated, and this was supported by his complaint to a doctor at a health clinic who treated him.

“The victim cried when testifying at the Sessions Court. The accusation or complaint by the victim was against an ustaz (religious teacher) who taught him. It not only tarnished the name of the ustaz, but also had a personal impact on the victim,” he said.

Azman, sitting with Noorin Badaruddin and Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, said the court found the conviction handed down against Khaireel to be correct and appropriate for both charges.

Regarding the sentence, Azman said that as the appellant should be the individual responsible for preventing such an incident, a sentence of 10 years in prison and one stroke of the cane for each charge was not excessive.

“This sentence should not only strike fear into the appellant but also into the general public so that they do not repeat the same offence. With this, we unanimously dismiss the appeal by the appellant and the High Court’s decision is upheld,” said the judge.

Case chronology

On Dec 23, 2020, Khaireel was charged with two counts of committing physical sexual assault on the boy in the warden's room of the tahfiz school’s dormitory.

He was charged under Sections 14(a) and 14(b) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 with committing the offences at 11.30pm on Dec 1, 2020.

On Dec 20, 2022, the Kuantan Sessions Court sentenced him to eight years in prison and two strokes of the cane for each charge and ordered the prison sentences to be served concurrently.

Following a cross-appeal by the prosecution, the Kuantan High Court, on Dec 20, 2022, increased the prison sentence to 10 years on each count, to be served concurrently, and reduced the number of whippings to one stroke for each charge.

Credibility of victim’s testimony

Earlier, lawyer Shuhairil Ziqrul Sapi, representing Khaireel, submitted that the High Court had erred in ruling the victim as a credible witness because the boy had given three different versions of the incident.

“The High Court erred in stating that the child’s testimony was judiciously convincing and that the appeals panel should scrutinise the testimony carefully.

“The victim’s testimony cannot be said to have reached the level of judiciously convincing because the prosecution did not call two other child witnesses who were sleeping on the top of a double-decker bed in the same room,” he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Aznee Salmie Ahmad, who appeared for the prosecution, said there was no basis to question the victim’s credibility because the testimony was consistent and was supported by the doctor’s account, the accompanying teacher and the case’s recording officer.

“The victim was also emotional and cried while giving evidence in court about an ustaz who was respected in the school community. It was not fabricated but stemmed from trauma.

“This is a disgusting form of betrayal because the appellant is also the warden at the tahfiz centre and all the children rely on him,” said Aznee.

- Bernama

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