KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — A Form Five student was today charged in the Batu Pahat court with 63 counts of sexual abuse and possession of child pornography.

According to Berita Harian, the student from a school in Sri Gading claimed trial on all charges, which involved forcing seven junior men to expose themselves to him.

The boy was also reported to have committed acts of non-physical sexual abuse in places such as toilets, prayer halls, various schools and houses in Batu Pahat, Kluang and Tangkak.

All the incidents allegedly took place between December 2023 and the end of last month, involving male victims who were all minors.

In some cases, the boy is accused of forcing his victims to record sex acts and send them to him.

The victims said they notified their school about the abuse to no avail.

The boy is alleged to have blackmailed his victims by publishing past recordings to force their compliance.

Of the charges, 62 were for non-physical sexual abuse under section 15(a)(ii) of the Child Sexual Offenses Act, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine or both on conviction.

The final charge of possession of child pornography under section 10 of the same Act is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years, a fine or both on conviction.

Magistrate Suhaila Shafi’uddin granted the accused bail of Rs 5,000 with one surety.

Deputy public prosecutor Farah Wahidah Mohd Sharip led the prosecution while lawyer Mohd Razak Shariff represented the boy.