English teacher sentenced to 10 years jail, five strokes of rotan for gross indecency with student

A primary school teacher was sentenced to 10 years jail and five strokes of the rotan by the Sessions Court here today after finding him guilty of performing a gross indecent act with a 10-year-old student in the teachers' toilet last year.

Judge Datin M.Kunasundary meted out the sentence to Asman Ambo Sakka, 36, an English teacher, after the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts against the charge.

In her decision, the judge also advised schools to take proactive action when something odd happened, as a teacher was not only to teach but to protect students while they were in school.

Kunasundary ordered Asman to serve his jail sentence starting today and rejected the application of the accused's counsel Azi Azlin Zulkifli for a stay of execution while waiting for an appeal.

Asman from Sabah was charged with the offence in the teachers' toilet in the school at 7am between July to Sept 2016 under Section 377E of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of 15 years and rotan.

The court made the decision after hearing statements from four prosecution witnesses and six defence witnesses throughout the trial.

Earlier, Azi Azlin had appealed for a lighter sentence as the accused did not have any previous criminal records and because it was his first offence.

"The accused had also been suspended from his job," he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Liyana Zawani Mohd Radzi however, called for a severe sentence as the victim in the case had to face pressure and his studies had been affected.

--BERNAMA