Govt leaving shariah judge sexual harassment case to cops

 

The religious affairs unit under the Prime Minister’s Department will not be interfering in the ongoing investigations into the issue of the top shariah court judge being accused of sexual harassment.

PETALING JAYA: The case of a top shariah court judge who had allegedly sexually harassed a woman will be left to the police to probe, says religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad.

In a statement, he pledged that the religious affairs unit under the Prime Minister’s Department will not be interfering in the ongoing investigations.

“As stated, the matter is being investigated by the police. The Prime Minister’s Department will leave the issue to the police to investigate.”

He also urged individuals to refrain from making any statements that may be seen to interfere or disrupt police investigations.

Idris said this after the Malaysian Muslim Lawyers Association urged the government to intervene in the issue. They said there was a risk that the good image of the shariah judiciary could be tainted with a squabble among shariah officers over the case.

Some had called for calm to allow the probe to be conducted, but other statements called for the judge to be benched while investigations were carried out.

Police are probing a complaint by a woman who claimed the top shariah judge had sexually harassed her, after she stumbled upon him lying naked on her bed in August 2020.

The judge subsequently lodged a police report denying the accusation and claimed those responsible for making such allegations only wanted to tarnish his reputation and snatch his post. - FMT