A three-member bench chaired by Justice Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim said the former Arabic language teacher’s appeal had no merit due to the concurrent findings of the sessions court and the High Court.

“The trial judge had the audio visual benefit to determine that the victim was a credible witness,” said Ahmad.

He said the sessions court judge also did not misdirect herself as the victim’s testimony was corroborated with other evidence tendered by the prosecution.

Also hearing the appeal were Justices Azmi Ariffin and Noorin Badaruddin.

The judges ordered the jail term to begin today as the 36-year-old was on RM15,000 bail pending the disposal of his final appeal.

The bench also maintained the trial judge’s order that the accused undergo rehabilitation counselling for eight years and police surveillance for three years after completing his jail sentence.

The former teacher was also ordered to be given two strokes of the cane.

In rejecting his appeal against the sentence, Ahmad said the punishment was not manifestly excessive. He said the accused was in a position of trust as a teacher, but he had instead abused that standing.

“The victim was traumatised. You have also tainted the good name of the school and the teaching profession,” he added.

Lawyer Aqbal Shiffudin Adnan Sallehuddin represented the accused while deputy public prosecutor Arif Aizuddin Masrom acted for the prosecution during today’s appeal.

On Sept 30, 2020, the special court for sexual crimes against children found the former teacher guilty of sexually assaulting the boy.

He sexually assaulted the boy by holding his genitals for sexual purposes at his house in Subang Bestari, Shah Alam, between 12.15pm and 12.45pm on Nov 22, 2018.

He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for imprisonment of 20 years and whipping.

The High Court affirmed the conviction and sentence on Feb 28 last year.