KUALA LUMPUR: A Rohingya man was charged with raping a 15-year-old girl at the Ampang Sessions Court today.
Mohammad Hassan Mohammad Rafik, 24, pleaded not guilty to the charge that was read to him in Bahasa Melayu before judge Suzana Hussin.
According to the charge sheet, the accused had raped the victim who was someone he knew, in a house in Ampang at about 10pm on Oct 30.
The offence under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code carries a maximum 20 years jail term and whipping, if convicted.
Deputy public prosecutor Raya Irna Julieza Maaras did not offer bail to Mohammad Hassan saying that the case involved a serious offence and that the accused was a foreign national.
"If the court were to allow bail, the prosecution proposes that additional conditions be imposed such as prohibiting the accused from going near the victim," she said.
In pleading for minimum bail, counsel T. Harpal Singh who represented the accused said his client was the sole breadwinner of his family.
"My client who is a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card holder has no previous record and this is the first time he is brought to court," the lawyer said pleading for RM5,000 bail.
The court denied bail to the accused and set Dec 28 for mention.
Yesterday, Mohammad Hassan's friends Mohammed Karim Mohammad, 20, and a 17-year old boy who can't be named, both Rohingyas, claimed trial to a similar charge involving the same victim at a different location in Ampang in September, August and October.