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Syariah judge acquitted of khalwat in M'sia

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A Syariah High Court judge and a financial adviser were acquitted and discharged of committing khalwat (close proximity) by the Syariah High Court in Penang.

It was the second time that Adam Tumiran, 46, and Nurulezani Mat Isa, 37, were acquitted and discharged of the offence, reported The Star.​

On May 17, 2012, a Syariah High Court did so after ruling that their marriage certificate tendered in court was valid.

However, on April 30 last year, the Syariah Court of Appeal allowed the prosecution’s application for a retrial on technical grounds.

Adam, from Kulai, and Nurulezani, who is from Seremban, were both charged with committing the offence at the government quarters in Jalan Masjid Negeri at 2.05am on Dec 5, 2010.

Reasonable doubt

In his decision yesterday, Justice Zaim Md Yudin ruled that the defence had successfully raised reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.

He said the court was satisfied on the authenticity of the marriage documents tendered by the defence such as the marriage certificate and letter of acknowledgement of marriage as it was verified by the Malaysian Consulate-General in Songkhla.

Justice Zaim said the prosecution had failed to supply proof or provide witnesses to support its claim that the Thai-issued marriage certificate, which states that Adam and Nurulezani were married in Satun on Oct 13, 2010, was fake.

“The best people to verify if the marriage certificate was fake or not are witnesses from the Thai religious authority, but none of them testified in court even after they were subpoenaed to do so." - Justice Zaim Md Yudin

“The prosecution also could not furnish the court with any records to prove that the couple did not register their marriage in Satun,” he remarked.

He also ordered the RM1,000 bail posted by Adam and Nurulezani to be returned.

Source: The Star

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