Lan Sairan, 65, pleaded not guilty to the charges read to him before judge Nariman Badruddin, Buletin TV3 reported.

Lan, a widower, is accused of committing the offence against the nine students, aged between nine and 12 years, at a workshop at a school in Kluang, Johor, between 8am and noon on Feb 26 and 27.

He was charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which provides for up to 20 years’ jail and whipping for each charge, upon conviction.

Based on the reports provided by the students, the school had invited an instructor to hold a remote control jet workshop.

The instructor brought the accused to the school to help him teach the students, where he allegedly committed the offence.

After the students related the incident to their teacher, their parents were called, and they lodged a police report on March 7. The accused was arrested the following day.

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Diyana Najihah Faruzi while Lan was represented by Fadly Abu Bakar.

The court allowed bail of RM48,000 for all the charges and ordered Lan to report to a police station once a month and not disturb the victims or prosecution witnesses until the completion of the case.

The court set April 24 for re-mention of the case and handover of documents.