Court of Appeal overturns acquittal, jails ex‑bowling coach two more years for molesting 13‑year‑old

A former bowling coach, Mat Salleh Jalani, who is already serving a six-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old male athlete in 2018, received an additional two-year sentence from the Court of Appeal for molesting another male athlete during the Malaysia Games in 2017.

The Court of Appeal, led by Federal Court judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin, reinstated the Magistrates' Court's conviction and enhanced the sentence from 18 months to two years, disagreeing with the High Court's earlier acquittal.

Justice Hayatul Akmal emphasized that a delay in reporting a sexual offence does not necessarily undermine the victim's credibility.

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 2 — A former bowling coach, already serving a prison term for sexual assault, was sentenced to an additional two years’ imprisonment by the Court of Appeal today for molesting another former Malaysia Games male athlete in 2017.

A three-member bench led by Federal Court judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin, sitting as a Court of Appeal judge, ordered Mat Salleh Jalani to begin serving the two-year sentence after completing his six-year prison term for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old male athlete in 2018.

The bench, which also comprised Justices Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, allowed the prosecution’s appeal to set aside the High Court’s decision to acquit and discharge Mat Salleh of the charge.

The court reinstated the Magistrates’ Court’s conviction and increased the sentence from 18 months to two years’ imprisonment.

In delivering the unanimous decision, Justice Hayatul Akmal said the High Court judge erred in assessing the available evidence and misdirected himself in finding SP3’s (the third prosecution witness and the victim) testimony unconvincing.

He held that the victim’s credibility remained intact and that the court had carefully assessed their testimony.

He further found that the victim’s evidence could stand on its own and was corroborated by other witnesses.

“Delay in lodging a police report regarding a sexual offence does not, in itself, undermine the victim’s credibility,” said Justice Hayatul Akmal, citing a Federal Court decision which recognised that victims may be reluctant to report such incidents for various reasons.

Mat Salleh, 63, was convicted by the Magistrates’ Court on Jan 31, 2024, of outraging the modesty of the victim, who was then 13 years old.

The offence was committed in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, at 5pm in May 2017. He was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.

On Aug 22 of the same year, the High Court acquitted and discharged him of the charge, prompting the prosecution to appeal.

At today’s proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Nazneen Zulkifli urged the court to increase the sentence, submitting that this was not Mat Salleh’s first offence and that he was currently serving a prison sentence in another case.

Defence lawyer Muhammad Faris Mohamad Fauzi had earlier requested that the court retain the prison sentence imposed by the Magistrates’ Court.

On March 11 this year, the Court of Appeal upheld Mat Salleh’s six-year imprisonment sentence for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old male athlete in 2018. — Bernama

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前保龄球教练马特·萨利赫·贾拉尼（Mat Salleh Jalani）因在 2018 年性侵一名 14 岁男运动员而被判处 6 年监禁，后又因在 2017 年马来西亚运动会期间猥亵另一名男运动员而被上诉法院加判 2 年监禁。

由联邦法院法官拿督阿兹米·阿里芬领导的上诉法院恢复了地方法院的定罪，并将刑期从 18 个月增加到两年，不同意高等法院早先的无罪判决。

法官哈亚图尔·阿克马尔强调，延迟报告性犯罪并不一定会损害受害者的可信度。

布城，10 月 2 日讯——一名曾因性侵罪服刑的前保龄球教练，今天被上诉法院判处额外两年监禁，罪名是他在 2017 年猥亵了另一名马来西亚运动会前男运动员。

由联邦法院法官拿督阿兹米·阿里芬（Datuk Azmi Ariffin）担任上诉法院法官的三人合议庭下令，马特·萨利赫·贾拉尼（Mat Salleh Jalani）在服完因 2018 年性侵一名 14 岁男运动员而被判处的六年监禁后，开始服刑两年。

由法官 Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz 和 Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid 组成的合议庭允许控方上诉，撤销高等法院对 Mat Salleh 无罪释放的裁决。

法院恢复了地方法院的定罪，并将刑期从 18 个月增加到两年监禁。

在宣读一致裁决时，法官哈亚图尔·阿克马尔表示，高等法院法官在评估现有证据时犯了错误，并且在认定 SP3（第三名控方证人兼受害者）的证词缺乏说服力方面存在误导。

他认为受害者的可信度依然完好无损，并且法院已经仔细评估了他们的证词。

他还发现，受害者的证词本身就足以成立，并且得到了其他证人的证实。

“延迟向警方报案本身并不会损害受害者的可信度，”法官哈亚图尔·阿克马尔说道，他援引联邦法院的一项裁决，该裁决承认受害者可能出于各种原因不愿举报此类事件。

63岁的马特·萨利赫于2024年1月31日被地方法院判处侮辱受害者（当时13岁）罪名成立。

该罪行于 2017 年 5 月下午 5 点在登嘉楼州瓜拉登嘉楼发生。他被判处 18 个月监禁。

同年 8 月 22 日，高等法院宣告他无罪并撤销指控，促使检方提出上诉。

在今天的庭审中，副检察官艾哈迈德·纳兹宁·祖尔基夫利敦促法庭加重刑罚，并指出这并非马特·萨利赫的初犯，而且他目前还在另一起案件中服刑。

辩护律师穆罕默德·法里斯·穆罕默德·法齐此前曾请求法院​​维持地方法院判处的监禁刑罚。

今年3月11日，上诉法院维持了马特·萨利赫因2018年性侵一名14岁男运动员而被判处的六年监禁。——马新社

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