Teacher jailed for molesting students fails in appeal

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TO JAIL: Yusahairee (face covered ) being escorted from court after the delivery of judgment at the Court of Appeal.

KUCHING: A former primary school teacher, who molested three students, aged 10 to 12 eight years ago, began his three-year jail sentence after the Appeals Court here upheld his conviction and jail penalty yesterday.

A three-member panel of judges comprising Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Mohamed Ali, Datuk Anantham Kasinather and Datuk David Wong Dah Wah unanimously dismissed Mohd Yusahairee Md Yusup’s final appeal.

Yusahairee was convicted and sentenced to a year’s imprisonment and a stroke of the rotan for each charge by the Sessions Court on Feb 16 last year for using force to outrage the modesty of the primary school students in a room of his quarters at SK Penghulu Imban at Batu 38, Sekim Sekuan, Stapang in Dalat between March 1 and 31 in 2004.

He was convicted of the molestation charge under Section 354 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to 10 years with fine or whipping or any two such penalties.

He appealed to the High Court but his sentence and conviction were affirmed.

In delivering the ruling yesterday, Justice Apandi who led the forum said there was no reason to disturb the decision as the finding was correct and based on the evidence induced.

The appellant at the material time was a physical education teacher who taught the victims.

The victims were asked on separate occasions to go alone to his quarters to fetch a bag. When each of them arrived at his quarters, the appellant would threaten them and outrage their modesty.

They talked among themselves of what the appellant did to them, and it was only a year later that they told their parents about the crime.

The parents lodged a police report against the teacher.

DPP Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi and DPP Mahadhir Mohd Khairudin prosecuted.