SHAH ALAM: The High Court here has upheld the 10-year prison sentence and three strokes of the cane imposed on celebrity preacher Da’i Syed, whose real name is Syed Shah Iqmal Syed Mohd Shaiful, for raping a woman.
Judge Adlin Abdul Majid ordered the sentence to take effect immediately after considering arguments from both the defence and the prosecution in the appeal against the conviction and sentence.
In his judgment on Friday (Jan 23), Adlin ruled that the Sessions Court judge had not erred in assessing the elements of the rape offence, as the prosecution had successfully proven its case, while the defence failed to raise any reasonable doubt.
He said the court found the defence by the accused to be a mere denial and that there were contradictions in Syed Shah Iqmal’s testimony regarding the incident.
"In general, the judge’s findings on the accused’s defence are findings of fact made after evaluating the evidence, including the oral testimony of the accused himself.
"A higher court should not interfere with such findings unless there is a clear error,” he said.
In the same proceedings, Adlin also dismissed the prosecution’s appeal against the sentence, ruling that the punishment imposed was appropriate as there was no evidence of excessive cruelty or violence during the incident.
Lawyer Mohamed Baharudeen Mohamed Ariff, representing Da’i Syed, applied for a stay of execution pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal, citing that his client was the sole breadwinner of the family and had cooperated fully throughout the proceedings.
However, the court dismissed the application after Deputy Public Prosecutor Maizatul Munirah Abdul Rahman objected to it, arguing that the grounds advanced did not justify a stay of execution.
On Aug 30, 2024, Syed Shah Iqmal was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and three strokes of the cane by the Shah Alam Sessions Court after being found guilty of the offence.
Sessions Court Judge Norazlin Othman ordered the father of two to begin serving the sentence immediately, having found that the defence failed to raise a reasonable doubt at the end of the defence case.
However, on Sept 20, 2024, after he had been in prison for 21 days, the Shah Alam High Court granted the stay.
On Dec 10, 2020, Syed Shah Iqmal pleaded not guilty to a charge of raping a 23-year-old woman at a condominium in I-City, Section 7 here, at 1.35am on Sept 11, 2019.
The charge was framed under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and whipping, if convicted. – Bernama
