Syariah Appeals Court upholds order for Taib's son to pay RM30mil in mutaah

KUALA LUMPUR: The Syariah Appeals Court here has upheld the decision by a Syariah High Court ordering businessman Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir Abdul Talib (pic) to pay RM30mil in mutaah (compensation) to his ex-wife Shahnaz A. Majid.

A three-man panel, chaired by Syarie judge Datuk Yusof Musa, made the decision after dismissing cross appeals by both Mahmud Abu Bekir, 55, and Shahnaz, 55.

Syarie judges Saarani Ismail and Datuk Dr Mohd Naim Mokhtar also sat on the panel.

The appellate court also ordered for the mutaah payment to be paid in three instalments of RM10mil each, whereby the first payment has to be before or on Oct 31.

On March 10, 2016, the Syariah High Court here ordered Mahmud Abu Bekir, who is the son of Sarawak Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud, to pay a RM30mil mutaah payment to Shahnaz.

The amount was said to be the highest amount given by a Syariah court in the country for a mutaah claim.

Mahmud Abu Bekir subsequently filed an appeal against the decision.

Then on March 21, 2016, Shahnaz filed a cross appeal for a RM100mil mutaah on grounds that the RM30mil was insufficient.

On March 30, the same year, the Syariah High Court allowed a stay of execution on the mutaah payment pending the appeals.

Mahmud Abu Bekir and Shahnaz were married on Jan 9, 1992.

Shahnaz is the older sister of popular singer Datuk Sheila Majid.

They divorced on May 11, 2011. They have a 23-year-old son, Raden Murya Abdul Taib Mahmud.