Ex-Tronoh assemblyman allowed to include three additional grounds in petition of appeal

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal on Tuesday (Dec 5) allowed an application by former Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong to include three additional grounds in his petition of appeal to set aside his conviction on a charge of raping his Indonesian maid.

A three-member bench comprising Justices Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Azman Abdullah and Azmi Ariffin allowed Yong’s application.

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Yong’s lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, when contacted by Bernama, said the court allowed his client’s application as there was no objection by the deputy public prosecutor Atiqah Abdul Karim@Husaini.

Also representing Yong were lawyers Datuk Rajpal Singh and Salim Bashir.

Yong’s appeal is fixed for hearing at the Court of Appeal on Jan 30 next year.

One of the grounds that Yong wanted to include in his petition of appeal is that he has been denied a fair trial as Section 265A of the Criminal Procedure Code, which was invoked by the High Court judge, was unconstitutional and that an inquiry held by the High Court was in breach of natural justice, consequently, it has occasioned a miscarriage of justice.

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On July 27 last year, the High Court in Ipoh found Yong guilty of raping his 23-year-old Indonesian maid in a room of his house in Ipoh, Perak between 8.15pm and 9.15pm on July 7, 2019.

Yong, 53, was given a stay of execution pending his appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The High Court also allowed Yong to be released on bail of RM30,000 with one surety and ordered him to surrender his passport to the court.

The High Court judge Abdul Wahab Mohamed, in his decision, said the court agreed with the prosecution that Yong’s defence that the rape incident did not occur, is not credible, merely a denial and afterthought. - Bernama