Former nursery assistant charged with abusing two-year-old child

TEMERLOH: A former assistant at a nursery (taska) in Mentakab here was charged at the Temerloh Sessions Court today with the offence of abusing a two-year-old girl, which could have caused emotional injury, last month.

The accused, Nor Ain Ashikin Husin, 26, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out before Judge Jamaludin Mat.

According to the charge sheet, the accused, who had custody of the child, was charged with abusing the victim in a manner that could have caused emotional injury.

The act was allegedly committed at approximately 9.45 am at a nursery in Taman Keramat Indah, Mentakab here, on 11 August last.

The accused was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which provides for a maximum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both, upon conviction.

Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Khairunnisa Zaffar offered bail of RM10,000 for the accused.

However, lawyer Mohd Falihin Kamil Mohamed Sazali, representing the accused, applied for the bail amount to be reduced on the grounds that his client’s family could only afford RM5,000.

He added that the accused, who is married, had previously worked with an income of about RM1,500 per month, but is currently unemployed.

The court then allowed the accused to be released on bail of RM5,000 with one surety.

The court also imposed additional conditions that the accused must not disturb the victim or any prosecution witnesses, and is required to report to the nearest police station once a month.

The court set 14 October as the next mention date for the case.

Recently, a 22-second video recording went viral on social media, showing a woman scolding and touching a crying child at a nursery in Mentakab.

Temerloh District Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner Mohd Nasyim Bahron, was reported as saying that an investigation was opened after the police received a report from the victim’s 29-year-old mother.

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