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Friday January 25, 2008

Remains of Muslim convert released to religious council

SEREMBAN: The remains of a 74-year-old man whose widow and seven children had no knowledge of his conversion to Islam was yesterday released to the state Islamic religious council for burial.

Syariah Court judge Mohd Nadzri Abdul Rahman in his ex-parte judgment said Gan Eng Gor, whose Muslim name was Amir Gan Abdullah, was a Muslim based on the testimony by officers from the council and his oldest child Abdul Rahman Gan Abdullah.

Eng Gor’s widow, Chua Chun, and the couple’s seven other children were not present in court yesterday.

On Monday, the council, the state religious department and Abdul Rahman Gan filed an application at the Syariah Court to support their claim that Eng Gor had embraced Islam on July 3, 2007.

They filed the application as Chua and her seven other children had refused to allow the council to take away Eng Gor’s body from a funeral parlour for burial.

Earlier in the day, Eng Gor’s son Hock Lim on behalf of the family applied for an injunction from the High Court requesting that the Syariah Court deferred its decision on Eng Gor’s religious status.

High Court judge Datuk Azhar Ma’ah then told the family that he would only make a decision after hearing the views of the Islamic affairs council, Abdul Rahman and second plaintiff Shasainie Siau Abdullah. The Syariah Court delivered its decision at 11am.

At 6.10pm the family was told the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case.

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