APM member freed of rape charge
JOHOR BAHRU: A member of the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM) was acquitted and discharged by the Sessions Court here yesterday of a charge with raping an underage neighbour.
Judge Kamarudin Kamsun ordered the release of Mohd Azwan Abidin, 24, without calling for his defence, after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.
He was charged with committing the offence on the girl, then aged 16, at a back lane of a house in Jalan Sekolah, Kampung Majidee here between 10 pm and midnight in January 2016.
The charge, under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code, provides an imprisonment for up to 20 years and whipping, on conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Suhaila Shafiuddin prosecuted, while Mohd Azwan was represented by lawyers Muhammad Ashraff Mohd Diah, Ahmad Yusri Ahmad Fuad and Mohd Safwan Saleh. — Bernama