A PART-time imam was fined RM8,000 by the Kota Bahru Magistrate's Court today after pleading guilty to recording his sister-in-law taking a bath using a mobile phone on March 24.
The 36-year-old accused made the plea after the charge was read out by an interpreter before Magistrate Rais Imran Hamid.
The man was charged with intending to outrage the modesty of a 27-year-old woman by recording the victim while she was taking a bath.
The act was committed at a house in Kok Lanas, Ketereh, at about 6.30 pm on March 24, 2026, and was charged under Section 509 of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment or a fine or both.
According to the facts of the case, the victim, who is also the accused's sister-in-law, realised that there was a mobile phone recording her while she was taking a bath before discovering that the device belonged to her brother-in-law.
The woman then took the phone out of fear that the video would spread before lodging a police report.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Nadzir Abdullah requested a proportionate sentence because the victim was the accused's sister-in-law, in addition to taking into account the incident that occurred at their grandmother's house when the family gathered in conjunction with Aidilfitri.
Najwa Fahima Mohamad Fadzil, who represented the accused, requested a minimum fine because her client had repented, in addition to having to support his wife and two children, including one who suffers from a heart problem.
The court then imposed a fine of RM8,000 or 12 months' imprisonment if he failed to pay the fine. – April 8, 2026
