AGC to seek review of Da’i Syed’s acquittal

 The Attorney-General’s Chambers says the review application would be filed under Rule 105 of the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers said the decision to seek a review was made after examining the grounds of judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal today.

PETALING JAYA:

The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) will file an application to review the Court of Appeal’s decision to acquit independent preacher Syed Shah Iqmal Syed Mohammad Shaiful, better known as Da’i Syed, of a rape charge.

In a statement, the AGC said the decision to seek a review was made after examining the grounds of judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal today.

The review application would be filed under Rule 105 of the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994.

“The review application will be based on the legal principles, criteria and threshold established for the exercise of the Court of Appeal’s review jurisdiction, as outlined in the Federal Court’s decision in Asean Security Paper Mills Sdn Bhd v Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (Malaysia) Bhd.

“Accordingly, the prosecution’s submissions will focus on whether there are exceptional circumstances that meet the required legal threshold to warrant the court’s consideration in exercising its review jurisdiction,” the AGC said.

The Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 majority decision, ruled in favour of Syed Shah Iqmal’s appeal. Justice Azman Abdullah, reading the majority decision, said the defence had succeeded in raising reasonable doubt and that the conviction was unsafe.

The court consequently set aside the 10-year prison sentence and three strokes of the cane imposed by the Shah Alam High Court.

Azman also said the sessions court and High Court had seriously misdirected themselves in finding Syed Shah Iqmal guilty.

The majority panel noted the defence’s submissions on the victim’s demeanour, before, during and after the incident, which showed that the sexual intercourse happened with consent.

Syed Shah Iqmal claimed trial to raping a 23-year-old woman at a room in a condominium in I-City, Section 7, Shah Alam, at about 1.35am on Sept 11, 2019. - FMT