Actress Puteri Sarah Liyana made a surprising revelation during the proceedings of her divorce application against her husband, Syamsul Yusof, at the Syariah Lower Court in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday (March 7).
Her lawyer Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader told the court that Syamsul, 38, had hit Puteri Sarah in the year 2020.
According to Puteri Sarah's lawyer, it was this violent incident that forced her to move out of the house.
"I didn't want to talk about that incident. But (I had to) after Syamsul didn't want to let me go," Puteri Sarah explained to journalists after she exited the courtroom once the proceedings had ended.
Elaborating further, the 37-year-old actress said that she did not file a police report as she still loved Syamsul.
"I didn't want to take any further action or make a police report as I didn't want to bring disgrace (to the family)," she added.
"But it was my mother-in-law (Datin Patimah Ismail) who saved me. She got me out of the house three years ago. As a matter of fact, Syamsul knows why I didn't want to live at home anymore," she said.
Another reason for the revelation was because her action of leaving the house was a contentious issue brought up in court by the defendant's lawyer.
Akberdin said the allegation that plaintiff Puteri Sarah was disobedient to the command of her husband (nusyuz) made by Syamsul was baseless.
“We presented (his act of violence) after Syamsul accused my client of nusyuz,” said Akberdin.
“We had to explain to the court what really happened and why she left home."
He further said that Puteri Sarah did return after her father- and mother-in-law persuaded her to come home.
On Jan 6, Syamsul announced that he had married Ira Kazar in Thailand and that Ira is his second wife, while Puteri Sarah is his first wife.
Puteri Sarah filed the divorce application on Jan 16 citing that there was no more understanding and prolonged shiqaq (disagreement) between her and Syamsul, and they could no longer live together as husband and wife according to Syariah law.
The request for divorce application was made in accordance with Section 47 of the Islamic Family Law Act (Federal Territories) 1984, Puteri Sarah said.
She had hoped for a clean break from her husband and that the court would rule in her favour.
However, Syamsul had stated, through his lawyer, of his refusal to divorce his first wife.
Due to the outcome on Tuesday, the judge had ordered both parties to appoint a conciliatory committee (JPK) in their divorce case.
Puteri Sarah and Syamsul were married on March 8, 2014 and have two children, Shaikul Islam, six, and Sumayyah, four.
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