KOTA KINABALU: A woman has lodged a police report after her estranged husband allegedly choked their child and threatened her in a fit of rage after she filed for a divorce.
The suspect, a foreigner in his 40s, was arrested by a team from the Tawau district police headquarters in city at around 2.20pm on Thursday (Feb 20).
Tawau police chief Asst Comm Jasmin Hussin said investigations revealed that the incident occurred on Dec 27 last year at a residential area in Taman Semarak.
"The suspect, the husband of the 39-year-old victim, a local who works as a saleswoman, acted aggressively because he was unhappy with his wife's divorce application and fasakh claim," he said.
Fasakh is a legal process under Islamic law that allows a wife to seek divorce through the court on specific grounds, such as cruelty, neglect, failure to provide financial support or other valid reasons that make the marriage untenable.
According to Jasmin, the suspect had been harassing his wife since she filed for divorce last December.
"In the latest incident, he became aggressive, chooked their child, and threatened to harm his wife. Fearing for her safety, she immediately lodged a police report to seek protection," he said in a statement on Friday (Feb 21).
Jasmin said the child is in stable condition.
The case is being investigated under Sections 323 and 326A of the Penal Code for causing harm and making criminal threats.
