IPOH, March 7 — The High Court here has deemed the additional evidence submitted by former Perak executive councillor Paul Yong Choo Kiong in his appeal against his conviction for raping his former Indonesian maid as hearsay.
High Court Judge Datuk Abdul Wahab Mohamed concluded that hearsay evidence cannot be admitted in court unless it meets the criteria stipulated by law.
“The High Court is of the opinion that the additional evidence constitutes hearsay. Therefore, it is not reasonable to accept it or give it consideration, especially as other factors in the evidence question its authenticity.
“Thus, the High Court maintains its earlier decision that the defence team could not raise any reasonable doubt, and the punishment should remain. However, the High Court will leave it to the wisdom and discretion of the Federal Court judges to make an appropriate decision,” he said.
Abdul Wahab explained that, without the victim’s presence in court to testify, the statement was hearsay and could not be admitted.
He added that the defence team did not explain why the victim herself was unable to appear in court to provide her testimony.
The judge also noted other factors, such as discrepancies in the victim’s signature on the statement, which cast doubt on its authenticity.
State prosecution director Muhamad Zaki Abdul Kudos prosecuted, while Yong was represented by lawyers Datuk Rajpal Singh and Salim Bashir.
Earlier, Muhamad Zaki disclosed that the prosecution team had received a new development regarding the additional evidence from Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, Abdul Wahab said that any further developments should be submitted to the Federal Court.
The Ipoh High Court will forward its opinion on the additional evidence to the Federal Court for the appeal hearing scheduled on March 17.
Last month, the victim’s lawyer, Pathurrahman SH MH, 58, from Sumbawa, Indonesia, told the High Court that the victim had fabricated the accusation against Yong to escape her employment obligations.
Pathurrahman said he had advised the victim that making a false statement was a serious offence and that she had the right to withdraw her statement in court, as it was better to tell the truth than to allow an innocent person to be convicted.
In a statutory declaration presented to the court, the victim stated that she regretted and apologised for her statement against Yong, admitting it was untrue.
Pathurrahman, a lawyer since 1993, confirmed that the letter was notarised and its contents were valid. He also stated that he drafted the letter based on what the victim had conveyed in Bahasa Indonesia and that she agreed to its contents.
On March 1, 2024, the Court of Appeal, in a split decision, dismissed Yong’s appeal and upheld his conviction for raping his 23-year-old Indonesian maid in a room at his house in Ipoh between 8.15pm and 9.15pm on July 7, 2019.
However, the appellate court reduced Yong’s prison sentence from 13 years to eight years, along with two strokes of the cane.
This prompted Yong to appeal the decision to the Federal Court.
The appellate court allowed a stay of execution pending the disposal of the appeal at the Federal Court.
Yong was released on RM30,000 bail with one surety and was ordered to surrender his passport to the court.
