PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has allowed former Perak executive councillor Paul Yong Choo Kiong’s application to admit additional evidence in his appeal against the conviction for raping his maid.
The three-judge panel led by Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal allowed the five documents to be admitted as additional evidence, describing them as important as it appeared to indicate that the victim might have provided false testimony at Yong’s trial.
“We consider this to be a serious matter because if it was indeed the case that the complainant (victim) gave false evidence, the applicant (Yong) would be subjected to grave injustice,” he remarked.Justice Harmindar, who sat with Justices Rhodzariah Bujang and Hanipah Farikullah, then sent the case back to the High Court and fixed Nov 26 for case management.
He directed the High Court in Ipoh to take in all the evidence, including the five documents and any other additional evidence relating to the documents, including evidence from witnesses.
Justice Harmindar also directed the High Court to certify the additional evidence and provide a statement of its opinion on the case, taking the new evidence into account.
He said if witnesses were called, the parties involved will be allowed to cross-examine them as the High Court deems appropriate.The Federal Court also postponed Yong’s appeal hearing originally scheduled on Nov 25, pending certification of the additional evidence by the High Court.
Earlier, Yong’s lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik sought permission to admit a statement in which the victim retracted her testimony regarding the rape allegation.
He said the effect of the document suggested that the victim might have committed perjury.
He said the statement was signed in the presence of a lawyer named Pathurrahman and a notary public by the name of Hilman in Indonesia, and the documents were sent to Yong’s house via courier in May 2024.
Hisyam said in her statement, the victim claimed she testified against Yong because he had refused to end her work contract.
He suggested that the matter regarding the new evidence be sent back to the High Court to determine the authenticity of the documents.
Justice Harmindar then asked Hisyam whether the victim would be willing to testify regarding the documents.
In his response, Hisyam said there was a possibility she might not appear as she could be arrested for perjury as soon as she returned to Malaysia.
DPP Faizal@Amrin Noor Hadi objected to the application, saying the documents were not certified and were mere hearsay.
