Medical student Zobaidul Amin faces charges under Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which may see him imprisoned for up to 30 years and whipped, if guilty.
SEREMBAN: The trial of a Bangladeshi medical student charged with 13 counts of possessing and producing child pornography was adjourned today after prosecutors asked for time to view court recordings of past proceedings before resuming their examination of a US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) officer.
Sessions court judge Surita Budin allowed deputy public prosecutor Siti Rafidah Zainuddin’s application for a short postponement.
She vacated the hearings scheduled for today and tomorrow and scheduled Nov 19 for continuation of the trial.
FBI special agent Caitlin Mclister had testified at the previous hearing, conducted in camera. The proceedings were, however, open to the public today.
Seven other witnesses have testified since the trial began in March.
Lawyer Harvindar Singh, appearing for Zobaidul Amin, 26, a student at a private university in Kuala Lumpur, also informed Surita that he would be filing representations with the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Zobaidul was arrested by police in Seremban in September 2022 after a joint investigation with the FBI.
He is charged with eight counts of producing child pornography in the form of videos and photos taken via Snapchat, an instant messaging app.
Each charge, framed under Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, carries a punishment of not more than 30 years’ jail and whipping upon conviction.
Zobaidul is also charged with five counts of possessing 927 images and videos containing child pornography stored in his phone, and on USB and hard drives.
Each charge carries a punishment of up to five years’ jail and a fine that can extend to RM10,000, or both, upon conviction.
Zobaidul, who is alleged to have committed the offences between Oct 26, 2021 and Sept 19 this year, was allowed bail of RM96,000.
On Sept 22, 2022, federal police secretary Noorsiah Saaduddin was quoted as saying that Zobaidul used social media to communicate with his victims – all children from the US – and coerced them into providing him with pornographic materials.
Deputy public prosecutors T Deepa Nair and Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi also appeared for the prosecution.
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