PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court here has sent the ‘enticement case’ involving celebrity TV presenter Daphne Iking back to the Magistrate’s Court for trial.
A three-men panel led by Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi made the order after striking out a referral application to the Federal Court for determination of constitutional questions, with liberty of parties to refile the application after the completion of the trial.
Zaki said the magistrate has to decide on the facts of the matter before parties can apply to refer to the Federal Court for determination of constitutional questions.
“We don’t answer question of law without facts. We do not answer hypothetical questions,” said Zaki who sat in the panel with Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Md Raus Sharif. He then directed the case be set for early trial at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court on Nov 29.
On Aug 25 last year, the High Court referred the case to the Federal Court after finding that there were merits to the application by Darren Choy Khin Ming, the man accused of enticing Iking, for constitutional issues to be determined by the Federal Court.
Among the questions was on the constitutional validity of Section 498 of the Penal Code in which the case was based upon.
Iking’s former husband, Ryan Chong Yiing Yih, 32, had initiated a private summons against Choy, 45, under Section 498 of the Penal Code for enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman.
Choy was charged with enticing Iking, 31, knowing that she was a married woman, with the intention of having sexual intercourse.
He allegedly committed the offence at a condominium unit in Taman Tun Dr Ismail between July 2007 and September last year. If found guilty, he can be jailed up to two years, fined or both.
Iking married Chong on Jan 27, 2007 in Bali, Indonesia. The couple has a daughter, Isobel Daniella Iking-Chong.
Counsel Datuk Jagjit Singh and Akberdin Abdul Kader represented Choy while lawyer Wong Kian Kheong represented Chong. — Bernama