Sinar Harian reported that Kharulnizam Muslin, 45, pleaded not guilty to three charges read out before judge Surita Budin.

In two of the charges, he was accused of committing physical sexual abuse against two 11-year-old male students whom he had been counselling.

The offences were allegedly committed in the counsellor’s room of a primary school in Seremban in May 2023 and early September 2023, between 1pm and 4pm.

Kharulnizam was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, read together with Section 16(1) of the same act, which provides for up to 20 years’ imprisonment and a whipping.

He was also found to possess in his laptop 180 photographs and videos of child pornography in another offence allegedly committed on Dec 12, 2023 at a house in Taman Warisan Puteri, Seremban.

For this, Kharulnizam was charged under Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for up to five years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM10,000, or both.

Deputy public prosecutor Nor Baizura Saubian proposed bail of RM30,000 per charge.

Kharulnizam’s lawyer Zahid Ahmad however argued that the bail amount was excessive as his client was a civil servant who was no longer teaching, while his wife was a housewife.

“I request the minimum bail amount as the accused has two schoolgoing children aged 11 and four years old,” he said, adding that Kharulnizam had cooperated throughout the investigation and was prepared for any additional conditions.

The court allowed bail of RM30,000 for all three charges, with the additional conditions that he report once a month to the nearest police station and refrain from disturbing the victim and prosecution witnesses.

It also told him to surrender his passport to the court until the end of the trial, and set March 7 for re-mention of the case.