IPOH, October 9 — A construction labourer was charged in the Sessions Court here with two counts of sexually assaulting and raping his 16-year-old stepdaughter in Malim Nawar.

The 43-year-old pleaded not guilty to both charges after they were read before Judge Jean Sharmila Jesudason.

For the first charge, he was accused of molesting his stepdaughter in a bedroom at a house in Tualang Sekah, Malim Nawar, in the Kampar district at around 7am on September 10.

The charge was framed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (Act 792), which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and whipping upon conviction.

For the second charge, he was accused of raping his stepdaughter, who was 15 at the time, at the same location at around 8am on an unspecified date in June 2025.

He was charged under Section 376 of the Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of between eight and 30 years, as well as whipping of not fewer than 10 strokes upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutors Nor Arfahanim Azureen Arfanuddin appeared for the prosecution, while the accused was represented by lawyer Aliff Aiman Rusli.

Nor Arfahanim urged the court to deny bail, arguing that the offences were serious.

However, if bail was to be granted, she asked the court to set it at RM25,000 for both charges with two non-family-member sureties.

She also sought additional conditions requiring the accused to report to the nearest police station once a month and prohibiting him from contacting or disturbing the victims and witnesses.

Meanwhile, Aliff appealed for bail to be set at a minimum of RM2,000 for both charges, arguing that his client had no previous criminal record and had cooperated with the police throughout the investigation.

“The victim is living with her biological father in Ipoh, and there is no risk of interference as my client resides in Malim Nawar.

“My client is also willing to comply with any bail conditions imposed by the court and is not a flight risk,” he said.

Aliff added that his client earned between RM50 and RM100 a day and had to support his wife and three children, aged 10, 16 and 19.

Judge Jean Sharmila granted bail of RM9,000 for both charges with two non-family-member sureties.

The court also ordered the accused not to contact the victim or witnesses and to report to the nearest police station once a month pending the disposal of the case.

The court fixed December 2 for mention.