KOTA KINABALU: A man was charged in the Sessions Court here with raping his 15-year-old "friend".
Hanafie Roslan, 23, pleaded not guilty before judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim when the charge was read out to him.
Hanafie was alleged to have raped the teen in August 2020, at a house in Tuaran district.
The offence under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code provides imprisonment of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
The court fixed Sept 5 for re-mention. The accused was released on bail of RM10,000 with two local sureties, pending disposal of the case.
The accused was also ordered to report himself to the nearest police station twice a month and not to communicate with any of the prosecution witnesses.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Nur Faezah Jafry proposed RM15,000 bail.
However, counsel Mohd Ari Nadzrah Abd Rahman who represented the accused asked for lower bail saying that the accused was not a flight risk and had no possibility of tampering with the prosecution's witness.
He also informed the court that the accused's wife was now five months' pregnant.