High Court to decide on Iking's seduction case

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/22edr/Article/index_html/12/10

KUALA LUMPUR: Businessman Choy Khin Ming, who allegedly enticed television host Daphne Iking, wants to refer seven constitutional issues to the High Court.Among the issues are:

- whether Section 498 of the Penal Code is an unequal law as it imposes criminal liability on the male party only and is therefore in breach of Article 8 (1) and (2) of the Federal Constitution over equality;

- whether the section is inherently discriminatory of the male sex as it criminalises the conduct of the male party in a joint and/or consensual act involving a female party and is therefore gender discriminatory under the same article;

- whether the section carries an inherently unreasonable classification as it is predicated on the pre-modernistic assumption that women are mere chattels and incapable of a rational choice as to their male companionship; and

- whether the section achieves the unreasonable object of consigning a woman to the custody of a man whom she no longer wishes to reside or consort with as her husband.

At the magistrate's court yesterday, his counsel Jagjit Singh, submitted that Choy disputed the constitutional validity of the section.

"The issues have a direct bearing on the constitutional legality of the present proceedings, and are just and appropriate for reference and determination by the High Court," he said.

The application to refer the issues to the High Court was filed on Monday.

On April 17, Iking's husband Chong Yiing Yih, 31, also a businessman, initiated a private summons against Choy 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, 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.

Jagjit applied for a stay of the proceedings at the magistrate's court pending the disposal of the issues at the High Court. The High Court has yet to fix the date to hear the matter.

He also applied for the record of proceedings to be transmitted to the High Court.

Magistrate Zaki Asyraf Zubir allowed the applications.

Also pending at the High Court is Choy's appeal against magistrate Mohd Faizi Che Abu's decision dismissing his application to have the case heard before a different magistrate.

Choy had claimed that Faizi hearing the matter would be prejudicial to him as he had earlier granted the sanction for private prosecution.

Faizi has since been transferred to the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya.

The appeal is fixed for case management on Dec 17.

Counsel Wong Kian Kheong is leading the prosecution team on behalf of the celebrity's husband after the Attorney-General's Chambers declined to prosecute.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/8/21/courts/4561412&sec=courts