PETALING JAYA: A former policeman is seeking to appeal against his conviction for enticing a married woman into having illicit sex with him.
The 41-year old, who has to obtain leave from the Court of Appeal to pursue the appeal, also wants the appellate court to determine if Section 498 of the Penal Code is unconstitutional.
Section 498 says that a person who entices away any woman whom he knows to be the wife of another for the purpose of illicit intercourse commits an offence punishable with imprisonment for up to two years, a fine or both.
His lawyer, P Purshotaman, said his client has filed three questions of law in his bid for leave to pursue the appeal.
The first asks whether Section 498 violates Articles 5(1) and 8(1) of the Federal Constitution by discriminating against men.
The second involves a consideration of whether the court has power under Articles 162(6) and (7) of the constitution to repeal Section 498, which is a pre-Merdeka law.
The third question asks what modification and interpretation the court can take to ensure Section 498 does not violate Articles 5(1) and 8(1).
Article 5(1) states no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law.
Meanwhile, Article 8 (1) guarantees that every person is equal under the law and has equal protection of law.
Purshotaman said the prosecution had indicated during a case management last week that it would not challenge the questions raised to secure leave.
“The court has now fixed May 19 to hear the matter,” he told FMT.
The former policeman, was charged in the Kuala Terengganu magistrates’ court on Nov 3, 2019 with committing the offence in Kuala Terengganu between Nov 25, 2016 and June 17, 2018.
On March 6 last year, the magistrate sentenced him to six months’ jail and a RM3,500 fine after he was found guilty. The court allowed him a stay of the jail term pending an appeal. He has paid the fine.
On Feb 23 this year, the High Court dismissed his appeal against the conviction, but varied the sentence by raising the fine to RM6,000 and setting aside the jail term.
Section 498 allows the court to impose a maximum two-year jail term, fine, or both, if an accused is found guilty.
The last time this type of offence attracted public attention was in 2009 when the former husband of celebrity Daphne Iking accused a corporate figure of enticing her.