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LABUAN: A 26-year-old religious teacher was acquitted by the Sessions Court here on Wednesday of a charge of physically sexually assaulting a male tahfiz school student after the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case.

Sessions Court Judge Dr Melissa Chia Pui Fu discharged and acquitted Muhammad Abdullah Jabeer Ali without calling for his defence.

Muhammad Abdullah had been accused of committing the offence against a 13-year-old boy by performing oral sex on him at about 10.30pm on Sept 15, 2022, in a restroom at a religious school here.

The charge under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 carries a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction, while an additional punishment under Section 16(1) of the same Act provides for imprisonment of up to five years and at least two strokes of the cane.

Defence counsel Datuk Ram Singh said the judge was not satisfied with the complainant’s oral testimony regarding the whereabouts of the accused at the madrasah, adding that four witnesses testified during the hearing, while the court also ordered the bail deposit to be refunded to Muhammad Abdullah.