Utusan reported that Fuad Abd Wahab, 33, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read in two separate proceedings before judges Rohatul Akmar Abdullah and Haderiah Siri.

He is accused of touching their private parts between 8am and 11.30pm at three separate locations – the prefects’ room of a secondary school, in his car and in a house at Taman Sutera Wangi, Batu Berendam, in Melaka Tengah, between Nov 1, 2022, and Sept 18, 2023.

If convicted, he can be imprisoned for up to 20 years and caned, under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.

The prosecution, led by deputy public prosecutors Azfar Mahmud and Ali Hussain, proposed bail of RM10,000 on every charge, on condition that the accused be barred from disturbing the witnesses and report himself once a month to a nearby police station until the case was concluded.

Lawyers Andrew Lourdes and Chua Yong Yi, representing Fuad, pleaded in their respective proceedings for lower bail, given his low income and that he was supporting his parents who are ill.

Both judges allowed bail of RM28,000 on all charges, as well as the additional conditions requested by the prosecution and ordered the man to attend every mention of the case.

The court set Feb 14 for re-mention of the case and handover of documents.