M’sian Assemblyman That Raped Indo Helper is Getting 13 Years of Jail & Two Cane Strokes

By Karissa Lund  •  28 Jul 2022 in News

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Justice has been served.

According to The Star, the Ipoh High Court has sentenced Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong to 13 years in jail and two strokes of the rotan for sexually assaulting his former Indonesian helper.

Yong was found guilty of rape that occurred in a room at his house in Meru Desa Park between 8.15 pm and 9.15 pm on 9 July 2019. The court found that the prosecution had established all components of the allegation through the testimony of the witnesses, yesterday (27 July).

According to the judge, the 52-year-old former member of the State Executive Council had not succeeded in casting reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.

“As the employer, you should be protecting her, especially when she has come from a different country, and not act according to your lust. This is a case where the proverb ‘Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi‘ (trusting someone who ends up betraying us) fits.

“The court takes into consideration the public interest of this case and a lesson not only to the accused but also to those who have the intention of committing a similar crime. A deterrent sentence will serve as a warning as cases of rape are on the increase. I am sentencing you to 13 years in jail with two lashes of the cane,” Justice Abdul Wahab said.

During mitigation, Yong’s counsel argued that the client was married with four children and was the sole breadwinner of the family. They mentioned that Yong did a lot of charity work and that the case does not involve any underage victim, incest and “no blood was shed”.

However, the court found the victim to be a credible witness, honest and convincing.

“The court also finds elements of an afterthought from the witnesses produced by the defence, especially in the time frame as to what occurred on the night of the incident, just as the accused, his wife and a friend had returned from Kuala Lumpur.

“The court also agrees with the prosecution that there was no concrete evidence or information that the accused was a victim of a political ploy and had enemies, as raised by the defence, which is baseless,” Justice Abdul Wahad urged, adding that these arguments could not be proven.

Meanwhile, state prosecution director Azlina Rashdi asked for a deterrent sentence due to the nature and gravity of the crime.

“The trauma that the victim went through will haunt her for life, especially when she was threatened when the incident took place. As a leader, the accused should be portraying a good example, and not demean the dignity of a person,” she added.

The court granted the request by Yong’s lawyer, Rajpal Singh, for the sentence to be stayed pending his appeal. Yong was allowed bail of RM30,000 in one surety and his passport was surrendered to the court.