Hafidz Eshak, who is also the chairman of the religious centre, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him at the Port Dickson magistrates’ court, Buletin TV3 reported.

He was charged under Section 354 of the Penal Code with using criminal force to outrage the modesty of the 19-year-old girl at the religious centre at about 6.40pm on Aug 18.

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in jail or a fine or whipping, or any two of the punishments.

Deputy public prosecutor Azriff Firdaus Ali asked the court to fix bail at RM50,000 given the severity of the offence.

He also pointed out that the accused will face another “serious charge” at the Seremban sessions court later today.

However, Hafidz’s lawyer, Hanif Hassan, said the amount suggested by the prosecution was exorbitant as the accused was innocent until proven guilty. He requested a lower bail amount of RM3,000.

According to Berita Harian, Hanif also denied that his client had any ties with Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings, which was put in the spotlight after police rescued 402 children from 20 welfare homes linked to the company last week.

Magistrate Uthman Abd Ghani allowed the accused to post bail at RM4,000 and fixed Oct 17 for case management.