Kota Setar police chief Syed Basri Syed Ali said a report was filed by the teen’s father and that the case is being investigated under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.

“We will record the statement of the coach involved as soon as he returns to the country,” he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia.

The Malay-language daily reported that the 15-year-old’s father lodged a report after his daughter lost interest in the sport, which she had been involved in over the past three years.

“My wife and I were puzzled as to why she had lost interest so suddenly as she had always been passionate about the sport and had won numerous medals and awards in the competitions she participated in,” he said.

The father, in his 40s, said they eventually discovered that the coach had allegedly asked the girl to give him a massage during a training session.

He said his daughter realised that the coach’s request was inappropriate after she attended an anti-sexual harassment talk organised by her school in September.

“”For several months, my daughter didn’t dare to speak up. Only recently did she inform us of the incident, after which we immediately filed a police report on Dec 20.”

He also said that he had filed complaints with other authorities, including the sports organisation involved, as the coach trains many students.

“I want to emphasise that this case does not involve rape or sexual assault, but inappropriate physical contact that made my daughter extremely uncomfortable,” he said, adding that he left it to the police to determine whether any wrongdoing had been committed.

“But why should a male coach ask an underage female student to massage him? Does this align with child protection principles?”