Appellate court upholds ex-civil servant’s jail sentence for molesting woman

2026-03-02 - 08:14

The Court of Appeal said the High Court did not err in convicting the accused of outraging the woman’s modesty as he had failed to raise reasonable doubt. PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal ordered a former civil servant to start serving his 18-month jail sentence today for outraging the modesty of a woman 15 years ago. Justice Supang Lian, who chaired the panel, dismissed Zolkapli Long @ Mohamad’s final appeal challenging his conviction for outraging the modesty of the woman, who was a client of the agency Zolkapli was with. Justices Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz and K Muniandy sat with Supang. Zolkapli had been found guilty of molesting the 19-year-old woman by touching her left breast and kissing her cheeks at the agency’s office in Langkawi on Oct 20, 2011. Reading the court’s decision today, Muniandy said the High Court did not err in convicting Zolkapli of outraging the woman’s modesty, as he failed to raise reasonable doubt. A magistrates’ court had acquitted Zolkapli in 2022 of the charge under Section 354 of the Penal Code. However, the High Court set aside the acquittal in 2023 and imposed an 18-month jail sentence on Zolkapli, saying the magistrate failed to properly analyse the prosecution witnesses’ testimonies before acquitting him.