KOTA BARU: The High Court here has upheld the 13-month prison sentence meted out to a religious teacher from a madrasah for the offence of extreme obscenity and molesting another man at a hotel in December 2020.
Judge Datuk Mohamad Abazafree Mohd Abbas came to the decision after rejecting the appeal of Syamsul Zaman Sukri, 35, who had been sentenced to serve 13 months in jail by the magistrate's court on March 9.
In his judgment, Abazafree said that there were seven issues raised by Syamsul Zaman, who is popularly known as "Ustaz Budak", with all seven being rejected.
"This includes the appellant claiming that the victim's testimony was not reliable. The appellant had no solid evidence or proof to bring doubt to the prosecution's case.
"The appellant also failed to prove mens rea (malicious intent).
"The High Court is of the belief that the sentence meted out by the magistrate's court is accurate and adequate. Therefore, the High Court upholds the 13-month prison sentence for the appellant to begin today," he said.
According to the charge sheet, Syamsul Zaman is alleged to have committed extreme obscenity towards a 30-year-old man at a hotel room in Kota Baru at 1.15am on Dec 16, 2020.
The accused is alleged to have committed the offence which is punishable under Section 377D of the Penal Code, which carries a sentence of imprisonment of up to two years upon conviction.
Prosecution was carried out by deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Fariz Abdul Hamid, while the accused was represented by lawyer Ahmad Adha Amir Yasser Amri.