The accused (left) being brought out of the courtroom.
KUCHING (May 18): A school bus driver was sentenced to four years’ jail by the Sessions Court here today after pleading guilty to committing sexual assault against 15-year-old girl by groping her chest.
Judge Maris Agan also ordered the jail sentence for the 47-year-old man to be enforced starting today.
The accused was charged under Section 14(a) of Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and punishable under Section 14 of the same Act.
The Section provides for a maximum imprisonment of 20 years and also whipping, upon conviction.
According to the amended charge, the accused allegedly groped the girl’s chest in front of a house in Jalan Matang, Depo Link here around 1.18pm on April 14, 2022.
In an earlier police report, the incident happened when the girl was walking home from school, when the accused suddenly approached her on a motorcycle, pretended to ask her something, and allegedly touched her chest before fleeing off the scene.
Meanwhile, during the mitigation, the accused pleaded to be given a lenient sentence on the grounds that he was supporting both his parents and a 17-year-old child.
The accused also informed the court that as a civil servant, he did not receive gratuity compensation nor a monthly pension to support his family.
He also said that the offence was committed after he divorced his wife.
The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Aiman Mutallib Mohamad Shariff, while the accused was unrepresented by a lawyer.