Judge Sayani Nor found that the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case in the two charges against the accused, Fauzi Musa, 37, Harian Metro reported.

The judge said he came to this decision after examining the evidence from the prosecution witnesses and case exhibits presented in court.

On both counts, Fauzi is accused of molesting the victim in the library in November 2019 and January 2020.

The charges were framed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which is punishable by up to 20 years in jail and whipping, if convicted.

This section involves acts of physical sexual assault committed against a child regardless of the child’s consent or gender.

The charges were also read with Section 16(1) of the same Act which involves those in a relationship of trust. This provides for a maximum additional jail sentence of five years and two strokes of the rotan, upon conviction.

The incident came to light after the child’s friend told the victim’s mother, who then filed a police report.

Deputy public prosecutor Othman Affan Ismail prosecuted, while the accused was represented by lawyer Hanif Hassan.

The court then set Nov 10 and Nov 11 for the accused to present his defence.