POLICE have investigated suspects for allegedly sexually abusing a tahfiz school pupil on two occasions before the case was dropped because of insufficient evidence, said Attorney-General Tommy Thomas.

The investigation into the case began when a woman lodged a police report on August 14, 2016, claiming that her son, then aged 10, was sexually molested by three senior students, aged between 12 and 18, at their school in Manjoi, near Ipoh.

It was reported that the Ipoh magistrate’s court last week had to throw out the case as the deputy public prosecutor declined to prosecute due to insufficient evidence despite a court ruling in August that an offence had taken place and ordering the DPP to explain the state of investigations.  

Thomas said the deputy public prosecutor assigned to the case decided in September 2016 that no offence had been committed. 

“As there was no other evidence then available for police to conduct further investigation, ‘No Further Action’ was ordered by the DPP in September 2016,” Thomas said in a statement today. 

He said investigations were reopened when potential new evidence emerged in February 2017. 

Thomas said the DPP assigned to the case had sifted through all the new evidence, but could not come up with a prima facie case. 

“Due to insufficient evidence to prove a prima facie case against the suspect(s) or anyone else, the DPP concluded for a second time in February 2018 that investigation need not continue.”

Thomas said the mother of the boy sent a complaint letter in June this year to the magistrate. 

“The magistrate decided to take cognisance of the mother’s complaint. On August 5, the magistrate served on the Perak State Public Prosecutor’s Office a notice to state that this case had been fixed on October 9 before the magistrate for the mother to be examined in relation to her complaint letter. 

“The examination was to be conducted by the magistrate purportedly in the exercise of the magistrate’s power under Section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” he said. 

Thomas said the Perak prosecutor had updated the magistrate on the status of investigations and explaining why NFA was ordered. 

He said the DPP’s decision to take no further action was exercised under the A-G’s power under Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution. 

Thomas said media reports that the magistrate made the decision after the court was provided with a letter from the Perak State Legal Adviser’s Office detailing a written directive by him under Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution was untrue. 

“The report was untrue. There was no written directive issued by me and in fact, none was mentioned in the Perak Prosecution Office’s letter to the magistrate,” he said. – October 21, 2019.