JOHOR BARU, June 27 — A 41-year-old man claimed trial at the Sessions Court here today to four charges related to sexual crimes against his underaged niece about five years ago.

The accused, a former ship mechanic in Singapore, pleaded not guilty to the charges against him after they were read before Judge VM Mabel Sheela.

He cannot be named to protect the victim who is his niece.

For the first charge, the man was accused of raping a girl who was seven years and nine months old at the time of the incident, without the victim's consent.

He was charged under Section 376 (2)(e) of the Penal Code for rape which carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years and caning, if convicted.

Based on the second charge, the accused was charged with producing child pornography of the victim in the form of a video.

For that act, he was charged in accordance with Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 30 years and up to six strokes of the cane, if found guilty.

As for the third charge, he was accused of committing physical sexual abuse against the same victim.

The accused was charged in accordance with Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 that was read together with Section 16(1) of the same Act which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and whipping, if convicted.

The three acts were allegedly committed by the accused at a house in Taman Perling here, at 1.30am in August 1, 2018.

For the final charge, the accused is alleged to have in his possession a USB pen drive containing child pornographic videos and pictures that were taken in a house in Taman Nusantara in Iskandar Puteri near here at 9pm, May 24 last year.

For that, the accused is charged under Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and faces a maximum sentence of five years or a fine of up to RM10,000 or both, if convicted.

Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Fadilah Johanuddin informed the court that the actions of the accused cannot be granted bail, but left the decision to the discretion of the court.

She suggested a bail amount of RM10,000 for each charge and three additional conditions, should the court wish to allow the accused to be released on bail.

However, defence counsel Baharudin Baharim, who represented the accused, applied for a lower bail amount on the grounds that his client had a wife and children who depended on him. He also noted that his client’s work permit was also suspended shortly after he was arrested by the police.

The court then allowed the accused bail at RM8,000 for all charges, with additional conditions.

He is prohibited from contacting the victim and witnesses and has to surrender his passport to the court. The accused is also ordered to report to a police station once a month.

The case is set for mention again for the submission of documents on July 24.

It is understood that the accused will face similar charges in other states such as Pahang, Kuala Lumpur and Kedah, involving the same victim.