Plea for stay of Malay model whipping rejected

Petaling Jaya, Oct 5: An assistant registrar of the Kuantan Syariah High Court here has turned down a Sisters in Islam (SIS) application for the revision of the Kartika Sari Dewi Sukarno case.

According to The Star, the assistant registrar returned all documents that were filed, together with the court fees paid, on September 18.

"This unprecedented action from the office of the Registrar is a clear violation of the court process as all applications filed and duly paid for must be accepted and heard," SIS said in a statement.

"The Registrar or any court officer has no right to filter any applications. The Court's duty is to accept such applications, and then it is for the Judiciary to hear all cases.

"Rejecting the application at the filing stage is tantamount to denying the right of a party to be heard, and in this particular case, denying SIS the right to be heard," the group said, adding that the action brings disrepute to the Syariah judicial system.

The revision filed by SIS at the Syariah High Court in Kuantan also asked for a stay of execution on Kartika's whipping sentence, SIS said in the statement issued by its executive director Dr Hamidah Marican.

SIS maintains that it is acting in the public interest so as to resolve the controversies and to provide clarity on the legality of the whole court process.

Kartika was fined RM 5, 000 and was ordered to be caned six times after pleading guilty for drinking beer in July 2009. She committed the offence at a hotel in Cherating last year.

ANI