GEORGE TOWN, March 21 — Ever since she was arrested for khalwat three years ago, Christian Indonesian Halimah has lived in fear of being thrown into jail in a foreign land for an offence she had no way of understanding.

That fear was reinforced after the Penang Shariah Court convicted her of being in close proximity with a person of the opposite gender who is not her spouse or relative, an offence under Islamic law and enforceable exclusively on Muslims, which further bewildered Halimah.

“I don’t understand what was going on when they arrested me in 2011 and even now, I don’t really understand what’s happening except that the case is still in court and I could go to jail,” she said halting, in an interview with The Malay Mail Online today.

The 42-year-old is illiterate and barely conversant in Bahasa Malaysia, the national language, even though it shares roots with the national language of her home country.

Her work as a reflexologist requires her to express herself less verbally and more through her fingers and muscle power.

Halimah said she was born a Christian and had a baptism certificate to prove it. She said she had not changed her religion at any time.

Malaysia practises a unique dual-court system with civil law that applies equally for everyone in the country, and shariah law that is only for Muslims.

Halimah was charged with close proximity with a person of the opposite sex who is not her spouse or relative at a reflexology centre along Jalan Seang Teik at 11.40am on December 8, 2011.

With no one to explain the meaning of the offence or the consequences, she pleaded guilty to the charge before the Penang Shariah Court on May 15, 2012.

“I didn’t know what’s going on when they charged me, I only know I was so frightened at that time,” she explained, when asked why she had admitted to it.

She could not remember much of what happened that day except that six Islamic law enforcers turned up at the centre where she worked and told her that she had committed an offence.

She was taken to the Shariah Court here, which was conducted wholly in Bahasa Malaysia. She said did not understand most of the proceeding.

Her lack of comprehension was apparent when asked questions in Bahasa Malaysia, which had to be repeated several times before she appeared to grasp the meaning of the words.

“I am glad that my employer is helping me to resolve this case,” she said, her relief palpable. “I just want it to be over so that I can go back to visit my family in Bandung, Indonesia.”

Her 22-year-old daughter is getting married in May and she hoped that she could go back for the wedding.

“If this case doesn’t get resolved by then, the wedding may have to be postponed,” she said, her voice tinged with worry.

Halimah’s employer, Datin Josephine Ong, said she was present when officials from the Penang Islamic Religious Affairs Department burst into the reflexology centre.

She related that the officers had shouted at Halimah and accused her of committing an offence under Shariah law and tried to take her away.

“I told them that she’s a Christian, not a Muslim, but they would not believe me,” Ong said.

“When they took her back for questioning, they kept telling her to just admit to it and admit that she’s a Muslim and that if she admits, nothing will happen to her,” she added.

The reflexology business owner suspects that those promises made may be the reason why Halimah had pleaded guilty to the charge, believing she may be let off lightly.

Instead, the state Shariah Court convicted her of khalwat, under Section 27 (b) of the Penang Shariah Criminal Offences Enactment. She was sentenced to jail for 14 days and fined RM3,000.

Fortunately, Halimah was granted a stay of execution but had to fork out RM3,000 for bail.

Ong hired a shariah lawyer, Wan Faridulhadi Mohd Yusoff, to represent Halimah and handle the appeal, which was upheld in the Shariah High Court, much to their astonishment.

The case is now pending before the Shariah Court of Appeal.

Halimah’s lawyer has had to run the paper trail to locate documents to support her claim as a Christian.

With the help of the Indonesian Consulate here, he has obtained her baptism certificate. He also managed to procure a letter from the Indonesian Consulate confirming that Halimah is a Christian and a charter signed by the consulate to show her entire family to be Christians.