KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: A chief discipline teacher has pleaded not guilty in the Ampang magistrate's court to 11 counts of molesting underage girls.
Ismazi Megat Ismazi Ismail, 49, did not show any emotion when the charges were read out to him in the presence of his friends and school teachers.
His wife, who was seated in the public gallery was in tears when she heard the charges and was seen consoled by her friend.
He was accused of putting his hand on the chest of eight 16-year-old girls and three 15-year-old girls.
If convicted, he could be jailed up to 10 years or fined or whipped or faces any two of such punishments for each charge under Section 354 of the Penal Code.
Guang Ming Daily reported earlier that the father of four was alleged to have committed the offence at a secondary school's disciplinary teacher's room in Pandan Indah, Ampang between 7.30am and 8.30am on Feb 25.
The 11 female students, along with two male students, were taken to the disciplinary office to be punished after they skipped the school's morning assembly in order to finish their mathematics homework.
They claimed that the teacher had drawn the curtains and asked his assistant to leave the room.
The teacher then pop quizzed the students with random questions, such as who is the Malaysian Prime Minister. He also rambled on about Malaysian history.
Suddenly, the teacher went into a frenzy and started hitting the tables and chairs, frightening the students.
