JOHOR BARU: An unemployed man pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court here today to a charge of sodomising a 15-year-old boy last week.
Abang Ariff Haikal Abang Zaidel, 22, made the plea after the charge was read in front of Judge VM Mabel Sheela.
Abang Ariff Haikal is accused of committing the offence at a house in Bandar Baru UDA on Nov 8 at about 5pm.
He is charged under Section 377A of the Penal Code which is punishable with a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Sulehan Abd Rahman appeared for the prosecution while the accused was unrepresented.
Earlier, Nur Sulehan asked that the court deny bail for the accused as the offence was non-bailable but asked for bail to be set at RM30,000 should the court want to consider it.
However, the judge said she would consider it if the accused made an appeal due to overcrowding at the lock-up and taking into account the risk of Covid-19 infection.
Abang Ariff Haikal who was sobbing in court asked for a lower bail as he had lost his job three months ago and regretted his action.
Mabel Sheela then set bail at RM5,000 with two sureties and ordered him to report at the nearest police station every month as well as not to disturb the victim and witnesses.
She then fixed Dec 15 for mention of the case and for the submission of the medical report.