IPOH: The High Court has ruled that the additional evidence submitted by former Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong in his rape case is hearsay and does not meet legal requirements.
Justice Abdul Wahab Mohamed said it was not safe to accept such evidence unless it met the criteria set under the law.
He said the court found that it failed to satisfy the conditions outlined in Section 32(1) of the Evidence Act 1950.
The judge also noted that there were issues regarding the relevance and credibility of the evidence, affirming that the court had sufficient grounds to uphold its initial decision.
"Hearsay evidence is inadmissible, and the initial statements during the trial are maintained. The court has no reason to reject the reasons provided during the trial in the earlier High Court proceedings," he said on Friday (March 7).
"The statements (in the trial) are supported by facts, police reports, CCTV footage, and expert opinions."
On Feb 5, the Indonesian maid, alleged to be the rape victim, through a statement read by her lawyer in court, claimed she had fabricated the accusation in order to return home before her contract ended.
Pathurrahman SH. MH, a 58-year-old advocate based in Kabupaten Sumbawa, Indonesia, who testified as a witness for the defence, had read the statement purportedly written by the maid.
He stated that the maid had approached his office on May 20 last year seeking legal advice, after which he drafted a notarised letter on her behalf.
This was after the Federal Court, on Nov 12 last year, allowed Yong's application to present additional evidence in his appeal.
However, Justice Abdul Wahab ruled that since the maid did not personally testify in court, the statement remained hearsay and could not be accepted as evidence.
He also pointed out that the defence did not provide any explanation for her absence.
"I stand by my decision as during the trial, I observed the victim's demeanour was proper, and I believe the evidence given by the victim then," he said.
Additionally, he highlighted discrepancies in the maid’s signature on the statement compared to other submitted documents.
Given these factors, the judge upheld the court’s earlier decision, ruling that the defence had failed to establish reasonable doubt in the case.
"However, I leave it to the wisdom of the learned Federal Court judges to come up with an appropriate ruling," he said.
Earlier, before the judge delivered his opinion, state prosecution director Muhammad Zaki Abdul Kudos said the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur had received a letter from the Indonesian Foreign Ministry on a new development regarding the additional evidence.
However, before Muhammad Zaki could read the letter, Justice Abdul Wahab cut him short, advising that the matter should be brought before the Federal Court.
The defence team was led by Datuk Rajpal Singh and Salim Bashir.
On March 1 last year, the Court of Appeal upheld Yong’s conviction for raping his 23-year-old Indonesian maid in a room at his house in Ipoh between 8.15pm and 9.15pm on July 7, 2019.
The appellate court, however, reduced Yong’s prison sentence from 13 years to eight, with two strokes of the cane.
Yong subsequently appealed to the Federal Court, which on Nov 12 granted his application to offer additional evidence.
The apex court panel, led by Justice Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, remitted the case to the High Court, instructing it to certify the additional evidence and provide an opinion on the case.
