A source told FMT the 52-year-old man has been charged with verbally sexually assaulting the student with the intent to outrage her modesty at a private college in Nilai in May.

He was charged in the Seremban sessions court on May 21 under Section 354 of the Penal Code, which provides for up to 10 years’ jail, a fine, whipping, or any two of the punishments, if convicted.

He was also suspended from his duties as a lecturer.

Nilai police investigating officer Hamimi Ramli confirmed the matter with FMT, saying they were awaiting further instructions from the court.

“The accused pleaded not guilty and was granted bail of RM3,000. The case is in the process of document submission and appointment of legal counsel for the accused,” Hamimi said.

The case came to light after the 21-year-old complainant shared on social media about being asked to meet the lecturer in his office for academic matters on April 23.

However, the lecturer allegedly spoke about sex and asked the business management student to type certain words into his laptop to search for related images.

Frightened, the student texted a friend for help before lodging a complaint with the college’s management and filing a police report.

UiTM had terminated the lecturer’s employment following an FMT report two years ago, after he was accused of sexual harassment against a female student, who was allegedly asked to answer inappropriate survey questions over a phone call.

He was charged in the Tangkak sessions court in March 2024 under Section 509 of the Penal Code for outraging a person’s modesty. The trial is ongoing.