IPOH: A letter that would supposedly exonerate former Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong is hearsay evidence unless the author herself comes to court to give a statement, the High Court said.
Justice Abdul Wahab Mohamed said hearsay evidence did not meet the requirements outlined under Section 32(1) of the Evidence Act 1950 and therefore, rejected it.
“Hearsay evidence is not admissible, and the initial statements during the trial is maintained.”
Justice Abdul Wahab was giving his opinion on an additional evidence presented by Yong who was convicted on July 27, 2022, of raping his Indonesian maid.
On Nov 12 last year, the Federal Court allowed Yong’s application to present additional evidence in his appeal.
The additional evidence was a letter containing the maid’s statement that she had fabricated the accusation against Yong so she could go home before her contract ended.
The letter was read at the High Court on Feb 5 by the maid’s lawyer, Pathurrahman SH. MH, 58, who was called as the defence witness.
Pathurrahman, who is based in Indonesia, said he had drafted the letter that was later notarised after the maid came to his office on May 20, last year to seek legal advice.
In his opinion, Justice Abdul Wahab said the defence team did not give any reason as to why the victim herself could not come to court to give the statement.
“I stick by my decision, as during the trial I saw the victim’s demeanour that was proper, and I believe the evidence given by the victim then,” he said.
The judge pointed out other factors involved, including the discrepancies of the signature on the statement compared to the documents tendered earlier in the case.
“So the decision on the case should stay. As the evidence given by the victim on the rape stays.
“However, I leave it to the wisdom of the learned Federal Court judges to come up with an appropriate ruling,” he said.
At the outset of the proceedings, state prosecution director Muhammad Zaki Abdul Kudos told the court that 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, saying the matter should be brought to the Federal Court’s attention.
On March 1, last year, the Court of Appeal upheld Yong’s conviction for raping his then 23-year-old maid in a room at his house 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 then appealed the decision at the Federal Court, which, on Nov 12, allowed Yong’s application to offer additional evidence.
The apex court sent the case back to the High Court and instructed it to certify the additional evidence and provide a statement of its opinion on the case.
