PUTRAJAYA, Feb 25 — A former security guard began serving his five-year prison sentence today after the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against both his conviction and sentence for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy in the toilet of an Islamic religious primary school in 2020.
A three-member bench led by Justice Datuk Azman Abdullah held that the Sessions Court had not erred in its findings, which were subsequently affirmed by the High Court.
In dismissing Muhammad Juwahir@Juhil’s appeal, Justice Azman ruled that both the conviction and sentence were safe and should be upheld.
He issued a warrant of committal for Muhammad Juwahir to commence his sentence today. The appellant had previously been granted a stay of execution and bail of RM20,000 with one surety pending the disposal of his appeal.
Sitting with Justice Azman were Justices Datuk Noorin Badaruddin and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid.
According to the charge sheet, the 73-year-old man committed the offence against the then-12-year-old victim in a school toilet in Johor Bahru, Johor, between 1.40pm and 2.10pm on February 2, 2020. The victim, a Singaporean, was enrolled at the school at the time.
On January 22, 2024, the Sessions Court found Muhammad Juwahir@Juhil guilty and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment.
The court also ordered him to undergo rehabilitation counselling during his detention and to be placed under police supervision for two years upon completion of his sentence.
The High Court dismissed his appeal on August 21, 2024, after which he filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
At today’s hearing, Muhammad Juwahir was represented by lawyer Izleen Ismail of the National Legal Aid Foundation, while deputy public prosecutor Zaki Asyraf Zubir appeared for the prosecution. — Bernama
