Paul Yong rape trial: Defence closes case after calling three witnesses

IPOH: The defence in the rape case involving Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong today closed their case after calling all three witnesses.

Counsel Datuk Rajpal Singh, who headed the defence team informed High Court Judge Datuk Abdul Wahab Mohamed that the defence had closed its case after the third witness, the uncle of the Indonesian maid who was allegedly raped, completed giving his statement.

The judge later ordered both parties to submit their written arguments before or on April 25 and file their rebuttals on May 9 in addition to setting May 17 for both parties to argue orally.

Earlier, on March 16, the defence team called two witnesses including Choo Kiong and his wife, Too Choon Looi, 46.

In the proceeding today, the last witness who is the uncle of the Indonesian maid told the court through an interpreter that the victim had mentioned there was a bad person and wanted to return to her country.

Muhammad Rusdi, 51, of Sumbawa, Indonesia said the matter was related to him and the victim's mother, known as Tina in a meeting at the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 19 2019.

"During the meeting, she only said she wanted to return while weeping and hugged her mother. She wanted to go home as there was a bad person," he said when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Mohd Fitri Sadarudin.

Asked by Mohd Fitri whether the bad person referred to her employer, Muhamad disagreed.

Muhammad also said in the only meeting among the three of them, the victim wanted to reveal a secret but was ordered out of the embassy hostel.

The witness did not agree with Mohd Fitri's suggestion that the secret referred to the intention of the woman to say she was raped by her employer.

After that, Muhammad agreed with Mohd Fitri's suggestion that since a police report was made by the victim's mother after the meeting, he should have been present to give his statement but could not do so as he was sick in Indonesia.

When questioned by Rajpal Singh whether the victim said who the bad person was, Muhammad replied: Not mentioned. I did not know the person.

Yong, 52, was accused of raping the 23-year-old maid in a room on the first floor of his house in Meru Desa Park between 8.15 pm and 9.15 pm on July 7 2019 under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and is liable to be whipped upon conviction.

Earlier the High Court ordered Yong to enter his defence after ruling that the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against him.

-- BERNAMA