PAPAR: A labourer was sentenced to a total of 12 months’ jail and fined RM5,000 after he pleaded guilty to five counts of using criminal force against five schoolgirls around Kinarut earlier this month.
Najir Kuati, 44, entered the plea before Magistrate Zuraini Ali Musa when he was brought before the Papar Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
According to the charge sheets, the accused committed the offences on May 4 involving victims aged between seven and 14, at several locations including SMK Kinarut, Kinarut Health Clinic and the Kinarut Settlement Scheme.
For the first charge, Najir was accused of pulling the right hand of a 14-year-old girl without her consent at 10.30am near the Kinarut Health Clinic. He was sentenced to two months’ jail and fined RM1,000, or one month’s jail if he fails to pay.
In the second incident, he again pulled the right hand of a 13-year-old girl at the same location around 10.50am. The court imposed another two months’ jail and a RM1,000 fine, or one month’s jail in default.
For the third charge, he was accused of pulling the left hand of a 7-year-old girl at 11.10am along the roadside in front of the Kinarut Settlement Scheme. He received three months’ jail and a RM1,000 fine, or one month’s jail if unpaid.
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Najir was also charged with hugging a 12-year-old girl without her consent near SMK Kinarut at 11.20am. The court sentenced him to two months’ jail and a RM1,000 fine, or one month’s jail in default.
In the fifth and final charge, he was accused of pulling the right hand of another 13-year-old girl at the Taman Sri Juta Kinarut junction at 10.50am. He was given three months’ jail and a RM1,000 fine, or one month’s jail if unpaid.
All charges were framed under Section 352 of the Penal Code for using criminal force in which the court ordered all jail terms to run consecutively.
The prosecution was led by Inspector Amir Khuzairi Ahmad, while investigations were carried out by Inspector Desmond Tanggapan and the Papar Police Criminal Investigation Division (CID) who completed the probe leading to today’s charges and sentencing.
The case followed viral social media posts earlier this month alleging that a man had been disturbing schoolgirls waiting for buses in the Kinarut area, sparking public concern.
