Justice John Lee @ Johan Lee said the two Mongolian women, as the plaintiffs, had successfully proven their case on the balance of probabilities against Hazrul Hizham Ghazali, 34.
“After considering the undisputed and unchallenged testimony of the witnesses and the submissions, I have found that the plaintiffs have proven that the defendant (Hazrul) had non-consensual intercourse with both plaintiffs, at least six times with one of the women and twice with the other woman,” said Lee.
He said the court awarded the first Mongolian woman a total of RM460,000 in damages, including RM260,000 for general damages for battery (inclusive of non-consensual sexual intercourse), sexual harassment and false imprisonment as well as RM200,000 for aggravated and exemplary damages.
Lee awarded the second woman a total of RM360,000 in damages, including RM160,000 for general damages for battery (inclusive of non-consensual sexual intercourse) and false imprisonment as well as RM200,000 for aggravated and exemplary damages.
The court also awarded RM20,000 costs to each plaintiff.
According to Lee, the defendant had been unrepresented since his former solicitor discharged himself and he had been absent at the trial despite being duly informed by his former solicitor.
“As per the strict instructions issued by the court, the trial proceeded accordingly and at the end of the trial, the plaintiffs filed their written submissions to the court,” he said.
In 2020, Hazrul was charged with two counts of trafficking in the two Mongolian women for sexual exploitation and nine counts of raping and intending to outrage their modesty.
However, he was freed of all the charges at the end of the defence case last year.
Based on the facts of the case, read out by Lee in court, the two Mongolian women were stopped by Hazrul at a roadblock in Petaling Jaya during the MCO on April 10, 2020.
The women were instructed to step out of the car and were brought to a nearby police tent before they were taken to a hotel in Petaling Jaya.
The defendant took them to separate bedrooms at the hotel and had non-consensual intercourse with them between April 10 and April 11, 2020.