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PUTRAJAYA: A former English teacher began his 12-month jail sentence today after the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against his conviction for outraging the modesty of a student six years ago.
A three-member bench chaired by Yaacob Md Sam confirmed Abdul Majid Ahmad’s conviction by the trial judge, saying it was safe and did not need to be disturbed.
“Having reviewed the appeal records and after hearing the attorneys’ presentations, there is no reason for the appeals court to intervene,” said Yaacob, who sat down with P Ravinthran and Ahmad Nafsy Yasin.
Majid, 56, was also charged with a similar crime against another student, but had previously been acquitted.
He had committed the crime against the girl, who was 12 years old at the time, at an elementary school in a Felda settlement in the Bera district, Pahang, on April 12, 2014.
The facts of the case revealed that he touched the girl’s thigh and advanced to her private parts, and then caressed her breasts, while they were in a classroom.
Assistant District Attorney Wong Poi Yoke maintained that the victim’s evidence was corroborated by testimony from another girl who was sitting next to him at the time of the incident, which took place during an extra class.
“She is a credible witness and this court must accept her testimony,” Wong said.
Attorney Mohd Hissham Ramjan, who appeared for Majid, said his client only tapped the girl on the thigh and had done nothing else.
Meanwhile, the same bank also dismissed another appeal by a retired worker from the Department of Drainage and Irrigation (DID) for a similar crime involving a 12-year-old girl.
Yaacob said there was no merit in Md Ramli Md Nurdin’s appeal.
The defendant committed the crime at a government barracks in Taiping on June 14, 2015 by touching the girl’s shoulder.
The Court of First Instance found Ramli guilty of the crime, sentenced him to 12 months in prison and fined him 3,500 ringgit.
On appeal, the High Court upheld the conviction in June 2018, but canceled the fine.
Ramli, 72, served the jail sentence and has since been released.
Lawyer Kathan Maruthamuthu claimed that her client’s action, which was in the presence of the girl’s father, was only intended to tell her to study hard.
“The simple act of touching him on the shoulder should not be considered an outrage on his modesty,” he said.
Deputy Prosecutor Mohd Zain Ibrahim argued that the trial judge had determined the facts and that an appeals court should be cautious when intervening.
