Kota Kinabalu: A private religious school teacher whose act of assaulting students outside a cyber café here went viral was fined a total of RM18,200 by the Magistrate’s Court Monday.
Saifur Rahman Mohd Ismail, 38, admitted before Magistrate Dzul Elmy Yunus to assaulting 13 male students aged between 14 and 20 in front of the Gaming Zone outlet at Bandar Sierra between 11.55pm and 11.58pm on Dec 14.
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Saifur was fined RM1,400 on each of the 13 charges, or three months’ jail, bringing the total fine to RM18,200.
All the charges were framed under Section 323 of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of up to one year, or a fine of up to RM2,000, or both, on conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Fazriel Fardiansyah Abdul Kadir, in presenting the facts of the case, told the court that a police report was lodged at 7.07pm on Dec 15, following a viral video showing Saifur, a tahfiz teacher at Al-Quran Darul Huffaz in Taman Putera Jaya, Telipok, assaulting the students.
Investigations revealed that a day before, on Dec 14, at 11.44pm, Saifur struck the 13 victims with a helmet outside the cyber café, unaware that his actions were captured by closed-circuit television cameras.
The victims were taken to the Women and Children’s Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where they were treated for soft tissue injuries.
During mitigation, defence lawyer Ari Nadzrah Rahman urged the court to impose a lighter sentence, saying Saifur worked as a religious teacher with an NGO and did not have a criminal record.
He said Saifur lost his temper after discovering that the students had left their hostel without permission at about 11.30pm.
“Although this is not an excuse to assault them, it is a factor that should be taken into consideration,” he said, adding the victims only suffered minor injuries and bruises.
Deputy public prosecutor Fazriel Fardiansyah Kadir sought a heavy sentence, stressing the seriousness of the offence.
He also said good intentions cannot justify unlawful conduct.
Saifur paid the fine.
