Cops to interview more witnesses in sexual harassment case against judge

KUALA LUMPUR – Police will have to interview several more witnesses before completing investigations into a case of alleged sexual harassment where a high-ranking shariah judge is being implicated.

Ampang Jaya police chief Mohamad Farouk Eshak told The Vibes that the investigation team has been ordered to probe and expand several other elements of investigations by Bukit Aman’s Prosecution and Legal (D5) division.

“We received instructions from D5 Bukit Aman to further investigations, so there are two, three more things that need to be done before we can resubmit the investigation papers to the deputy public prosecutor (DPP).

“We are not sure when we will be able to complete investigations; there are several witnesses we are looking to interview and they have also asked for different timings, so it’s hard for me to explain in further detail,” he said when contacted.

Mohamad Farouk said investigations into the case have been expedited considering how it has become a case of public interest.

“The case is currently being referred between my investigation team and a team from Bukit Aman, but since this has become a case of interest, we will look to submit the investigation papers to the DPP as soon as possible,” he added.

Earlier reports had wrongly stated that instructions came from the DPP for police to expand their probe, when such instructions came from Bukit Aman’s D5 division.

Farouk had earlier confirmed that a police report was lodged against judge after he allegedly sexually harassed the 57-year old widow of a former CEO of a well-known company.

Meanwhile, Farouk also confirmed that a counter report had been lodged by the judge against the complainant over the accusations hurled against him.

“Yes, there is a report. It was lodged several days after the complainant lodged her report,” he told The Vibes.

The victim was still married at the time of the alleged incident, while her husband was bedridden. The alleged offence is said to have taken place inside their home in August 2020.

According to the police report, the judge had requested to use the master bedroom of the woman’s home to perform his prayers on the night of the alleged incident.

Realising that the man had remained in the room much longer than usually required to perform his prayers, the woman, when checking up on him, supposedly found him lying naked on her bed.

The woman claimed she then hid in another bedroom, and when the alleged perpetrator left her home at around 3am that night, he complimented her on her beauty and strong faith despite his actions.

Former Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam went on a tirade in a video uploaded on YouTube, alleging that the judge had committed similar offences on several other occasions against other victims.

In his almost hour-long monologue, Lokman said he came to know about reports lodged against the same judge by the latter’s subordinate, who apparently worked at Radio Ikim (Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia) when the incident happened.

Lokman claimed the judge had similarly found himself at the woman’s home at night and left in the morning. The Umno man alleged “everything except the act of penetration” took place during this time.

He also claimed that Ikim, despite being aware of the matter, took no action against the judge.

He went on to assert that following the incident, a police report was made by the woman and a former Terengganu mufti. – The Vibes, January 12, 2022