IPOH, February 5 — The High Court here today heard that the Indonesian victim in the rape case involving former Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong, who was convicted, has withdrawn her accusation against him, with her lawyer testifying that she made the false rape claim to return to Indonesia before her work contract ended.
The victim’s lawyer, Pathurrahman SH. MH, 58, from Sumbawa, Indonesia, revealed that the victim had fabricated the accusation against Yong in an attempt to escape her employment obligations.
“On May 20, 2024, the victim came to my office to seek legal advice. She told me that she had worked as a maid in Yong’s house and had accused him of raping her, and that she had given her statement in the Session Court in Malaysia,” Pathurrahman said.
“However, she confessed to me that she had made a false statement against Yong and wanted to retract it. She explained that her reason for making the false accusation was to return to Indonesia,” he added.
Pathurrahman said he advised the victim that making a false statement was a serious offence and that she had the right to withdraw her statement in court, as it was better to tell the truth than for an innocent person to be convicted.
“After considering my advice, without coercion or intimidation, the victim decided to withdraw her statement in Malaysia,” he said, adding that the victim had instructed him to prepare a letter regarding the matter, which he drafted on May 21 last year.
In the statutory declaration presented to the court, the victim stated that she regretted and apologised for her statement against Yong in the Malaysian court, as it was not true.
“I was bound by a contract for three years as a house maid in Yong’s house from May 2019 to May 2022. I regret and apologise for my statement against Yong. I made the rape accusation just to find a way to return to Indonesia before my work contract ended,” the letter read.
“I wanted to terminate my employment contract prematurely, but was denied by Yong’s family. Therefore, I made this statement,” the letter continued.
Pathurrahman, who has been practising law since 1993, confirmed that the letter was notarised and the contents were valid.
During cross-examination, state prosecution director Muhamad Zaki Abdul Kudos questioned whether the letter was written by the victim in her own words.
Pathurrahman confirmed that he had drafted the letter based on what the victim had said in Bahasa Indonesia.
Muhamad Zaki then suggested that the letter may have been fabricated, questioning how the maid could remember details such as dates and the employer’s address so clearly, considering the incident occurred in 2019 and the trial concluded two years ago.
Pathurrahman confirmed that the victim had read the letter, agreed with its contents, and signed it.
Muhammad Zaki was assisted by Liyana Zawani Mohd Radzi, Nasrul Hadi Abdul Ghani, and Qurratu’äini Khalifah, while Yong was represented by lawyers Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Datuk Rajpal Singh, and Salim Bashir.
Judge Datuk Abdul Wahab Mohamed then fixed March 7 to deliver his opinion, which will be submitted to the Federal Court for the appeal hearing scheduled for March 17.
On March 1, the Court of Appeal, in a split decision, dismissed Yong’s appeal and upheld his conviction for raping his 23-year-old Indonesian maid in a room at his house in Ipoh, between 8.15pm and 9.15pm on July 7, 2019.
The appellate court three-judge panel, however, reduced Yong’s prison sentence from 13 years to eight years, along with two strokes of the cane.
This prompted Yong to appeal the decision to the Federal Court.
The appellate court allowed a stay of execution pending disposal of the appeal at the Federal Court.
Yong was released on RM30,000 bail with one surety and ordered to surrender his passport to the court.