The Bhutanese Leading the way.
On 14th April 2025 the Member of Parliament (MP) from Nubi Tangsibji, Tashi Dorji, who was convicted of child molestation by Trongsa Dzongkhag Court appealed to High Court.
He was sentenced to 3 years 3 months and 28 days imprisonment on 10th April 2025.
He appeals claiming his innocence and contends that the OAG failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judgment was rendered involving an incident that took place on 4th September 2022 when the accused, then serving as a Gewog Administration Officer in Trongsa, allegedly molested a minor while she was sick and bedridden.
After the alleged molestation, the minor confided in her friend about the assault.
Subsequently, the victim exhibited drastic behavioral changes. Friends and witnesses described her as withdrawn and emotionally distressed.
Further, during a 2023 school session on appropriate and inappropriate touching, she became visibly upset and later disclosed the incident to the school counselor, that she had been sexually assaulted by a neighbor in absence of her parents.
This prompted the school to report the incident to Trongsa Hospital, which later reported it to the PEMA Secretariat, who reported it to Trongsa Police on 9th July 2024.
Tashi Dorji was charged under Sections 203, 204, and 11 of the Penal Code of Bhutan for child molestation, a fourth-degree felony.
