Appellate court may review freeing of child rapist, says CJ

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 7 — Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria today said the Court of Appeal could review the case of bowler Noor Afizal Azizan who was bound over for statutory rape.

He said the Attorney-General’s Chambers could file a review of the case.

However, the court would still need to see if it were proper to invoke its inherent power to review the case.

The country’s top judge was responding to a question from reporters at a Hari Raya open house at the Palace of Justice here, on the recent court cases where those convicted of raping underage girls were given non-custodial punishments.

“If the Attorney-General (who is also a public prosecutor) applies (for review), the court will see whether it is proper to exercise its jurisdiction to review. The court will decide later. I can’t predict what is coming. It is not proper (for me to comment),” said Arifin (picture).

In a statement released on Wednesday, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said the prosecution may propose the use of the Appeals Court’s inherent power to review its decision.

On August 8, this year, the Appeals Court chaired by its president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif restored the Malacca Sessions Court’s decision to have Nor Afizal bound over for good behaviour for five years in one surety, in a sum of RM25,000, for raping a 13-year-old girl.

The panel had set aside the five-year jail term imposed on Nor Afizal by the Malacca High Court, which had allowed the prosecution’s appeal for an enhanced sentence after the Sessions Court bound him over for good behaviour when he pleaded guilty to committing the offence at a hotel in Ayer Keroh, Malacca, between 12.30am and 5am on July 5, 2009.

To a question about electrician Chuah Guan Jiu who was also bound over for good behaviour by the Penang Sessions Court after he was found guilty of statutory rape, Arifin said it was subjudice for him to comment on the case at this moment.

He said the Attorney-General was appealing (against the Sessions Court’s decision), and it would prejudice the appeal if he commented on it.

“But we look into it. We will consider everything on the case. The Court of Appeal’s decision is final. There is nothing we can do,” he said.

The Court of Appeal, which is the apex court for the Magistrates’ and Sessions Courts, has the power to invoke a review of its own cases under exceptional circumstances.

Rape cases are tried in the Sessions Court and will end in the Court of Appeal.

On the judiciary, Arifin said that beginning next year, it would focus on disposing of backlog cases at the Shah Alam Court as there were a lot of pending criminal and civil cases there.

Arifin said he had confidence that the judiciary could clear the cases within two years.

He said the judiciary had succeeded in disposing of cases at the Kuala Lumpur Court last year. — Bernama