Wife faints as man gets jail for rape

2009/09/30

By M. Hamzah Jamaludin

KUANTAN: A woman was overcome by emotion and collapsed outside the Sessions Court yesterday after she learnt that her husband was sentenced to 15 years' jail and five strokes of the rotan for raping a friend's daughter.

The woman, in her 30s, was waiting outside the court as she had to take care of her three children, aged from 14 months to five years old.

She rushed to meet her husband as he was being taken to the court lock-up but fainted when told about the sentence.

Several relatives and members of the public helped to place her on a bench before she was sent to Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital.

Her husband, Adam Syed Mohd, 37, a businessman from Kampung Lang Kiri, Kuala Rompin, earlier received the sentence after he was found guilty of raping the underage girl at Mei Wah Hotel in Taman Tanjung Gemok, Kuala Rompin, about 7pm on Jan 17, 2006.

The victim, who lives in the same village, was then 15 years and two months old.

Adam, who was unrepresented, created a ruckus in the court when he refused to be handcuffed after judge Hassan Abd Ghani made his decision.

However, he finally gave in and was handcuffed before being escorted out of the court.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Mahadi Abdul Jumaat pressed for a deterrent sentence as rape cases were on the rise, with 140 cases reported in the first eight months of this year.

In his judgment, Hassan said there was sufficient evidence to show that Adam had committed the offence.