Kota Kinabalu: A father and his two children were jointly charged with abusing a fourth child, resulting in the child suffering physical injuries.
Rayner Riset, 43, Arizona Nerence Rayner, 23, and an 18-year-old boy pleaded not guilty separately before Sessions Court Judge Marlina Ibrahim to the charge against them on Thursday.
The trio are accused of committing the offence against a 12-year-old girl at 1pm on Jan 21 this year at a house in Kg Mansiang, Manggatal, near here.
The offence, under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, provides for a fine of up to RM20,000, or imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both, upon conviction.
The court set April 14 for pre-trial case management and released the trio on bail of RM5,000 each with two local sureties and several additional conditions.
They were ordered to report to the nearest police station once a month, surrender their passports (if any), and not communicate with or contact the alleged victim or any prosecution witnesses.
Failure to comply with these conditions will result in their bail being revoked.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Dk Afiqah Alya Ak Johari objected to bail on the grounds that the alleged victim is currently staying with her grandfather, whose house is in the same village as Rayner’s residence.
She further submitted that there was a high possibility the trio could interfere with the child or other prosecution witnesses.
She told the court that the alleged victim had previously been referred to the Welfare Department but was released to her grandfather after being discharged from hospital.
Meanwhile, counsel Lawrence Lim, who represented the trio, applied for bail, stating that Rayner is the sole breadwinner of the household claiming that his wife who has yet to divorce, had abandoned the family.
Lim said that if bail were not granted to Rayner, no one would be able to pay for his four children’s education fees.
For Arizona and the 18-year-old brother, Lim told the court that Arizona is currently employed and plans to pursue a diploma at a private college here, while the brother is awaiting his SPM results.
Lim added that the trio had been remanded for five days before being released on police bail and had cooperated fully throughout the investigation.
