Ex-trainee teacher loses appeal; gets six years' jail

PUTRAJAYA: A former trainee teacher was sent to jail today to serve six years behind bars, after he lost his appeal in the Court of Appeal here to set aside his conviction for sodomising a standard six pupil in 2016.

Mohamad Harman Faiz Hassin, 30, who was freed on a RM22,000 bail in one surety pending disposal of his appeal, was also ordered to be whipped twice.

A three-man bench, led by Justice Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said, unanimously dismissed Mohamad Harman's appeal against his conviction for the sodomy offence, committed in a room at the Teachers Training Institute hostel, in Besut, Terengganu at about 1 pm on Sept 17, 2016.

He said the Sessions Court had made the correct findings based on the evidence, and that Mohamad Harman's conviction for the offence is safe.

Justice Kamaludin, however, allowed Mohamad Harman's appeal to reduce his jail term from 10 years to six years.

In the court's decision, he said the court agreed to reduce Mohamad Harman's jail sentence, as the latter was young when he committed the offence and he is also a first offender.

Justice Kamaludin also said the six years' jail would also take into account the time Mohamad Harman had spent in jail before he was allowed bail by the High Court pending disposal of his appeal.

The appellate court, which also comprises Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and High Court Judge Azizul Azmi Adnan, also set aside the Sessions Court's order for Mohamad Harman to undergo a two-year police supervision after he completed serving his jail sentence.

On March 5, 2019, the Sessions Court found Mohamad Harman guilty of sodomising a male student who was 12 years old then and sentenced him to 14 years in jail and six strokes of the rotan.

He lost his appeal against conviction in the High Court but succeeded in his appeal to get his jail term reduced to 10 years and two strokes. He then filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Lawyer Datuk Jasbeer Singh Kaura, who represented Mohamad Harman, told the media that his client had served about three and half months in jail.

Deputy public prosecutor Fauziah Daud appeared for the prosecution.

-- BERNAMA