Sabtu, 1 November 2008

Teacher accused of sex acts with pupils

By: Heidi Foo

SEREMBAN: A senior assistant at a Vision school here, was charged with encouraging two schoolboys to perform unnatural sexual acts.

The 40-year-old, who has 18 years of experience as an educationist, faces up to five years in jail and whipping, if convicted.

Mohd Harith Mohd Nor, the father of a 5-year-old girl, was calm when the charges were read out to him at the magistrate's court here yesterday. Also present were his wife, his mother and several other relatives.

Harith claimed trial to inciting two of his former pupils, aged 13 now, at various locations in the district between October 2006 and August this year.

He pleaded not guilty to inciting one of the boys on five occasions and another, three times.
For the first victim, Harith was accused of committing the offence while on the way to the Paroi Stadium on October 2006.

The subsequent two alleged offences were committed while he was on the way to the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital and at the office of the senior assistant of co-curricular activities of SRK Wawasan Seremban 2 in March last year.

He was also charged with inciting the same boy on two other occasions in September last year and March this year at the swimming pool of the Seremban 2 Sports Complex and at a house at No 269, Jalan Arowana Impian 10, Taman Arowana Impian, here, respectively.

Harith was also alleged to have incited another boy, also his pupil, at the same office in SRK Wawasan Seremban 2 between November and December last year and at the same house in March and August this year.

Assistant public prosecutor Fairuz Syuhada Amran applied for bail of RM2,500 for each charge in one surety before magistrate Azlina Hashim.

Counsel M. Gobinathan pleaded for a lesser amount of RM2,000 for each charge, adding that Harith had been in the lock-up for the last seven days.

"I hope the principle of not guilty until proven otherwise will apply," he said.

Azlina fixed bail at RM15,500 and fixed Dec 1 for mention.

Bail was posted by the accused's wife.

The New Straits Times Online: 31 Oktober 2008

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