The Court of Appeal on Saturday reversed the acquittal of a religious teacher of sexual assault charges after finding errors in the Intermediate Court’s decision.
Mohammad Ali Yusni bin Haji Bujang will be sentenced on a date to be fixed by the Intermediate Court after the appellate court finds that the judge had misdirected herself while making the decision.
The November 11 decision made by presiding Chief Justice Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong sitting with Justices Michael Peter Burrell and Conrad Seagroatt effectively put a conviction in place of the acquittal.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Hajah Suriana binti Haji Radin sought the reversal after the Intermediate Court acquitted Mohammad Ali Yusni from a charge of outraging the modesty of a 12-year-old female pupil by using criminal force on October 26, 2021.
The appellate court examined the Intermediate Court’s decision based on the absence of criminal force.
Other than finding error in making the decision on technicalities, the appellate court found Mohammad Ali Yusni had been “unarguably in a position of trust and the fact that the victim had some form or degree of liking for him… rendering her vulnerable to the predilections of a much older man who was in loco parentis to her and took advantage of her youth for illegal sexual conduct”.
They highlighted that the victim was in a “relatively passive disposition which made it easy for him to use minimal essential forceful action to assault her sexually and there was clear evidence of this. On no material matter did the (Intermediate Court) judge disbelieve the (victim)”. – Fadley Faisal
