KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 ― A New Zealand court today amended the bail conditions for a junior Malaysian diplomat who is set to face trial there next month for alleged sexual assault.
The junior envoy Muhammad Rizalman Ismail, who was granted bail last week, had applied to change the address where he will be staying while remanded on bail, his curfew hours and restrictions to travel within the inner city of Wellington, the New Zealand’s Dominion Post reported.
According to Dominion Post, the prosecutor’s objected to Muhammad Rizalman’s requests, but Wellington District Court Judge Bruce Davidson allowed the address change.
The judge extended the daily overnight curfew hours on Muhammad Rizalman from the initial 10pm to 7am by ordering it to start from 7pm.
Davidson did not lift the travel restrictions stopping the extradited Malaysian from entering Newtown, Berhampore or Cuba St in the inner city, it reported.
The New Zealand Herald reported today that the other conditions for Muhammad Rizalman’s bail include surrendering his passport and the prohibition of any contact with the alleged victim in the sexual assault case.
The Malaysian will appear in court next month to face charges of intent to commit sexual violating and alleged burglary by remaining in a building.
Rizalman was arrested by New Zealand police on May 9 and charged the next day with alleged burglary and assault with intent to rape 21-year-old Tania Billingsley. Both charges carry the maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
Rizalman later returned to Malaysia on diplomatic immunity, which sparked a public dispute between the two countries, following accusations that he abused diplomatic privilege to escape prosecution.
He had been scheduled to be sent back to New Zealand in July, but was delayed after a psychiatric examination stated he was not fit to travel.
On October 25, Rizalman was finally extradited and flown back to Wellington to face his charges.
The Second Warrant Officer with the Ministry of Defence was flown from Kuala Lumpur on Friday and spent a night in custody in Auckland, before being transferred to Wellington.
Rizalman’s wife and three children however have stayed put in Kuala Lumpur in a location closely guarded location by the government, said NZ Herald in a recent report.
