PUTRAJAYA, April 19 — The Court of Appeal has fixed May 25 to give its decision on whether a teenager who pleaded guilty to committing sexual-related offences should be given a non-custodial sentence or be placed at Henry Gurney school.
Justice Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who chaired a three-member panel said they need a month’s time to go through relevant laws to consider the appropriate punishment for the male teenager.
Justice Hadhariah together with Justices Datuk M. Gunalan and Datuk Lim Chong Fong heard the 18-year-old teenager’s appeal today against two magistrate’s court’s order that he be sent to Henry Gurney school for three years.
The boy, who was 15 years old at the time of committing the offence, was charged at the Sepang Magistrate’s Court, sitting as a Court for Children for two counts of physical sexual assault and another charge of carnal intercourse against the order of nature.
He was also charged at the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court, sitting as a Court of Children, on a physical sexual assault charge.
Two victims were his friends and one was his younger sister.
On September 23, 2020, the Sepang Magistrate’s Court ordered the teenager to be placed in Henry Gurney School for three years while the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court made the same order on February 4, 2021, after the teenager pleaded guilty to all of the charges.
His appeal against the sentence was dismissed by the High Court on November 5, 2021.
Earlier in the court proceedings, Justice Hadhariah said the panel members had read the appeal records and had noted that the appellant (the teenager) had the tendency to watch pornography.
Meanwhile, the teenager’s lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz argued that the magistrate had erred in issuing the order to send his client to Henry Gurney school as there was no such recommendation from the probation officer to do so.
Mohd Khairul said under Section 91 (1) of the Child Act 2001, the court can give a non-custodial sentence like a bound over, make a probation order, community service or an order for the teenager to pay a fine, compensation or costs.
He said the teenager has turn a new leaf and had completed his SPM examination. He said while studying at a boarding school, there were no complaints or reports of him repeating such offences.
Deputy public prosecutor Ng Siew Wee submitted that the teenager should be placed in Henry Gurney school and not be given a non-custodial sentence as the teenager has no regard for female modesty.
She said a deterrent sentence should be imposed to send a message that the court shows abhorrence to those types of offences.
Ng said the order of both magistrate’s courts to send the teenager to Henry Gurney School in Melaka was in accordance with the law, adding that the law allowed the teenager to be placed in the school until he turns 21.
“The school, which is under the purview of the Director-General of Prisons is appropriate as it provided rehabilitation programmes,” she said adding that if the court did not agree with her that the teenager should be placed in the school, then the suitable sentence would be to commit him to a custodial sentence in prison.
Ng said under the law, a probation order cannot be granted to the child if the offence committed were sexual offences.
— Bernama
