The defendant pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out before judge Zulkifli Abdullah, Berita Harian reported.

On the first charge, he is accused of raping the girl on July 21 under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to 30 years and a maximum of 10 lashes, if convicted.

On the second charge, he is accused of committing non-physical sexual assault against his daughter under Section 15(C) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017. If convicted, he can be imprisoned for up to 10 years or fined up to RM20,000 or both.

Both offences are alleged to have taken place at 5am.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Faiz Fitri Mohamad, while the defendant was not represented by a lawyer.

Earlier, the defendant, who has three children, requested bail on the grounds that he did not intentionally commit the offences.

However, Faiz requested that bail should not be granted given the seriousness of the case and the fact that the alleged victim is his daughter.

Zulkifli denied bail and set Aug 28 for next mention of the case.