High Court halves celebrity preacher's jail term to 12 years
PETALING JAYA : The Shah Alam High Court has reduced former celebrity preacher Azman Syah Alias's jail term from 24 years to 12, after allowing his appeal for the sentences to be served concurrently.
Justice Shamsulbahri Ibrahim delivered the ruling after reviewing written and oral submissions from both the defence and prosecution. However, he upheld the sentence of two strokes of the rotan, Kosmo reported.
'For the two counts of physical sexual assault, since they involved the same witnesses and are part of the same case, I find it appropriate for the sentences to run concurrently,' he was quoted as saying.
Defence counsel Fahmi Adilah argued that both charges stemmed from the same case and involved the same victim and witnesses. He said the sessions court had erred by not considering Section 102 of the Subordinate Courts Act, which limits the total sentence to 20 years.
He said the High Court's intervention was justified, as there was no delay in the trial, and it was conducted under a single case number.
Deputy public prosecutor Tengku Najiha Zahari however maintained that the sessions court's original decision was fair and not excessive.
She said there was no continuity of action in the case and although the two charges were heard together and the same witnesses called, it did not justify the concurrent sentencing.
She had urged the court to consider public interest, saying Azman's position as a preacher and the age of the victim warranted a firm sentence.
The sessions court previously sentenced Azman, 44, to 12 years in jail and one stroke of the rotan for each charge. The court also ordered the prison sentences to run consecutively.
Azman was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy at a homestay in Kampung Sungai Udang on Feb 20 and June 29, 2022.
The charge was framed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and a caning.
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