Former bowling coach sentenced to additional two years for sexual abuse of ex-Sukma athlete

A unanimous Court of Appeal panel—Judges Azmi Ariffin, Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz and Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid—upheld the prosecution’s challenge to the High Court and imposed an additional two-year imprisonment on former bowling coach Mat Salleh Jalani, 63, under Section 354 of the Penal Code. The new term will be served after his existing six-year sentence for a 2018 sexual assault of another former Sukma athlete under Section 14A of the 2017 Child Sexual Offences Act.

The court accepted the victim’s (identified as SP3) testimony as consistent and reliable, despite her reporting the abuse in 2021, and noted support from her mother and two other trainees (SP4, SP5). Judges also increased a prior 18-month sentence to 24 months for related offenses. Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Nazneen Zulkifli represented the prosecution, while Fariz Fauzi defended Mat Salleh. The alleged incidents began in May 2017 at Coral Crown Bowl in Paya Bunga Square, Kuala Terengganu, and continued until 2020.