PUTRAJAYA: Former Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong, who was convicted of raping his domestic helper, has failed in his final appeal at the Federal Court.
A three-judge panel chaired by Chief Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh unanimously dismissed Yong's appeal to set aside his conviction and sentence.
He said the panel found the conviction against Yong to be safe and affirmed the conviction and sentence.
"The appellant’s appeal is hereby dismissed.
"We hereby issue a committal order against the appellant," Justice Wan Ahmad Farid said on Wednedsay (Oct 1).
Other judges on the Bench were Federal Court judges Justices Nordin Hassan and Hanipah Farikullah.
Yong will be immediately sent to the Kajang Prison to serve his eight-year prison sentence and two strokes of the rotan.
In the decision, the court found no miscarriage of justice against Yong throughout the trial.
Justice Wan Ahmad Farid said the Federal Court was satisfied that the victim was a credible witness and that the High Court had been correct to accept her testimony.
"The trial judge is the most appropriate party to assess the demeanour of witnesses when giving testimony in the High Court," he said.
Some of the evidence brought before the court was the victim's personal diary in which she wrote “Aku benci diriku" (I hate myself).
During the trial, when asked what she meant by these words, the victim said she felt “kotor, jijik dan hina” (dirty, disgusting and unworthy).
"PW15 (victim) also testified that before the rape incident, the appellant had sexually harassed her a few times in the appellant’s house," Justice Wan Ahmad Farid said.
This was corroborated by a medical examination on July 9, 2019, where the examiner found fresh tears of the hymen, which occurred less than 72 hours from the time of the examination and could be caused by penile penetration.
"The evidence from the CCTV also established the fact that at the time of the incident, the appellant was alone with PW15," he said.
Yong’s lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik later told the press that his client was shocked and deeply disappointed by the decision.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohd Amril Johari and Mohd Fuad Abd Aziz appeared for the prosecution.
Yong was appealing against the Court of Appeal's decision which upheld the High Court's decision convicting him for raping his 23-year-old Indonesian maid.
In July 2022, the Ipoh High Court sentenced Yong to 13 years' imprisonment but the Court of Appeal in March 2024 reduced the sentence.
The offence was said to be committed in a room at Yong's house in Ipoh, between 8.15pm and 9.15pm on July 7, 2019.
