PUTRAJAYA: Former Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong has filed a review application with the Federal Court against his conviction and eight-year jail as well as caning for raping his domestic helper.
His counsel Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik confirmed the filing when contacted and said the application was submitted last week, Bernama reported.
The notice of motion filed pursuant to Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules 1995 seeks a review and order to set aside the Federal Court ruling, which affirmed his client’s conviction and sentence.
Yong began his sentence on Oct 1, following the Federal Court’s dismissal of his final appeal.
In a supporting affidavit, Yong, 55, deposed that the Federal Court panel had breached the principles of natural justice.
He stated, among others, that the panel departed from established precedent and the prevailing interpretation of Section 182A of the Criminal Procedure Code, without affording his counsel a right to be heard.
Yong was initially sentenced by the High Court in July 2022 to 13 years jail and two strokes of the rotan after finding him guilty of raping the 23-year-old Indonesian domestic helper at his Ipoh residence on July 7, 2019.
In March 2024, the Court of Appeal reduced his prison term to eight years while upholding the corporal punishment.
In a ruling dismissing Yong’s final appeal, the Federal Court held that the victim was a credible and convincing witness and affirmed the High Court had been correct in accepting her testimony as the basis for the conviction.
