KUCHING: The High Court will review the case in which a statutory rape charge against a man was dropped after he married the 15-year-old victim.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim said the deputy public prosecutor (DPP) in the case had
informed her ministry of the action following the girl’s decision to withdraw her complaint, according to Malay Mail Online.
“The DPP has just informed us that a review will be conducted in the High Court,” she said in a press conference yesterday.
“It doesn’t mean that because you are married, that the rape case disappears. The marriage could have been a family decision. But rape is rape, and he must go through the punishment if he is found guilty,” Rohani said.
Rohani said the ministry viewed such cases seriously and questioned whether Ahmad Syukri Yusuf’s marriage to his alleged victim was carried out following the existing procedures.
“Before they got married, did they get the necessary permissions? There are rules that must be followed. They would need to get the clearance of the Shariah Court, the family, as well as the approval of the Mentri Besar or Chief Minister,” she said.
In Malaysia, the legal minimum age for marriage under civil law for both genders is 18, with marriages involving those under this age requiring consent from the state mentri besar or chief minister.
Shariah laws here place the legal marrying age for Muslim boys and girls at 18 and 16, with girls aged below 16 allowed to be married off with the consent of the Shariah Court.
Kuching Sessions Court discharged Ahmad Syukri Yusuf, 28, on July 27, who was charged with statutory rape but not amounting to acquittal.
The Borneo Post front-paged the decision of Judge Afidah Abdul Rahman who in passing the decision said: “Since the complainant and the victim of the subject matter of this case wishes to withdraw the complaint against the accused on the ground that she is now married to him, there is no necessity to proceed further with the case.”
Ahmad was initially accused of committing the statutory rape twice – firstly around 10am sometime in the middle of October and the other time, around 1pm on Oct 16 last year.
The girl was then 14 when these incidents happened.
The front page story on July 28 caused an outcry, with the Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah calling for the DPP to bring fresh charges against Ahmad Syukri Yusuf.
Fatimah pointed out that statutory rape is a grievous offence and her ministry viewed with grave concern the reason given by the presiding judge for discharging the accused.
“The accused was charged with statutory rape because the victim/complainant was under 16 years old at the time when the crime was committed. We don’t want this case to create a precedent for perpetrators to get away from paying for their crime by marrying the victims.”
Others who were perturbed by the Court’s decision include Sarawak Women for Women Society (SWWS) vice president Ann Teo and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) women national vice president Voon Shiak Ni.