The 32-year-old man was accused of raping the teenager, who was 16 at the time of the first alleged incident.

The charges are framed under Section 376(3) of the Penal Code, which provides for up to 30 years’ imprisonment and no less than 10 strokes of the rotan if convicted.

Deputy public prosecutor Nurul Balkis Zunaidi did not offer bail, citing her concern that the accused may further harass the victim, who lives in his home.

The accused, who was unrepresented, pleaded for a low bail amount, saying he makes RM50 a day as a scrap metal collector and has five children.

Sessions court judge N Kanageswari set bail at RM16,000 for both charges, with the conditions that the accused report to a police station once a month and refrain from contacting the prosecution witnesses until the disposal of the case.

The court set Jan 15 for remention of the case.