Teacher fails appeal on gross indecency convictions
KOTA KINABALU: The High Court here yesterday upheld the sentence of a teacher on six convictions of committing gross indecency on his pupils.
Justice Datuk Nurchaya Hj Arshad affirmed the lower court's decision on Masdin Damsik, 48, who appealed to have his conviction and sentence varied.
The subordinate court had sentenced the appellant to one year's jail for each of the six charges after finding him guilty of all the charges but the jail terms were to run concurrently.
The charges were framed under Section 377D of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail of two years, upon conviction.
On the first to the third counts, the appellant was convicted of pulling up the baju kurung skirts of two female pupils and touching the private parts of a male pupil, respectively, at a classroom of a school in Inanam at 10am on April 11, 2014.
The charge also stated that the appellant had touched the buttocks of one of the female pupils.
On the fourth to the sixth charges, the appellant had committed a similar act to another two female pupils and one male pupil, respectively, at the same time and place.
Counsel Wotti Jinius, who represented the appellant, argued that the appellant's act could not be considered as gross indecency by pulling the skirts of the victims, adding that the appellant was angry with those pupils at that time and his act was just to warn them as they were naughty.
The counsel requested for his client's sentence be reduced to five months since the appellant had been in custody for five months after he failed to furnish his bail.
In reply, the prosecution rebutted that the act of the appellant was considered gross indecency as our customs and society nowadays believed that pulling someone's skirt was something indecent.