A 34-year-old man pleaded not guilty in the Magistrate's Court here today to subjecting his seven-year-old daughter to physical and emotional abuse.

The malnourished girl was left in captive and abused in an apartment unit near Sungai Dua here. Her health deteriorated and she was reportedly left to shrink to a worrying weight of below eight kilogramme.

Mohd Shaikful Adli Mohd Afendi was charged with subjecting the girl under his care to the abuse in Sungai Dua, Seberang Perai Utara, near here at 7.23pm on Jan 15.

He was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 which provides for a maximum fine of RM20,000 or a jail term of up to 10 years, or both, upon conviction.

Magistrate Muhammad Firdaus Abdul Wahab set Feb 25 for mention of the case. He granted Mohd Shaikful Adli bail of RM8,000 in one surety on condition that he did not interfere with the victim or prosecution witnesses during the trial.

Mohd Shaikful Adli's counsel Saiful Ambar Abdullah Ambar had sought bail for his client while deputy public prosecutor Khairul Fairuz Rahman had opposed the granting of bail.

The girl is undergoing treatment at the Seberang Jaya Hospital.

The Standard One pupil was found weak and hungry on Jan 15 in a Sungai Dua house which was without electricity and water supply.