IPOH: Perak executive councillor Paul Yong Choo Kiong has filed an appeal over the High Court’s dismissal of his application for his rape case to be heard in a higher court instead of the Sessions Court.
One of Yong’s counsels, Farhan Sapian, told Sessions Court judge Norashima Khalid that the appeal was filed on Nov 27, and the legal team was requesting for another mention date to be set before the court set the dates for the trial proper.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Azhar Mokhtar objected and said that the dates for the trial should be set first as proceedings should not be delayed just because a notice had been filed.
“The proceedings can be conducted first without waiting for the appeal to be heard.
“There is also a provision that the High Court’s decision cannot be appealed,” added Azhar.
Farhan said if the prosecution wanted to object to the appeal, it should be done during the hearing at the Court of Appeal.
“Today is not the right time or place for the objection,” he said, adding that a date has yet to be fixed for the hearing at the Court of Appeal.
However, Yong was not present at court because he had a meeting with Perak Mentri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu over his portfolio matters as an exco member.
Azhar said with the case registered in August, the case should finish within a period of six months, and thus the trial should not start in March, as stated by the lawyer.
Norashima then fixed Feb 10 to 14 next year for the trial to start.
The rape victim’s watching brief lawyer Azura Alias requested that the trial be heard soon because if the case kept being postponed, this could affect the victim’s emotional state as she is still under the Witness Protection Act.
On Nov 26, Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohd Radzi Harun dismissed the application and ordered the case to be heard at the original Sessions Court, where the case management date was set for Thursday (Dec 5).
On Nov 13, Yong had filed an application under Section 417 of the Criminal Procedure Code for his case to be transferred and heard in a High Court.
Yong had claimed trial to a charge of raping his 23-year-old maid at his home.
According to the charge sheet, he committed the act in a room on the top floor of his house in Meru Desa Park on July 7, between 8.15pm and 9.15pm – The Star