KUALA TERENGGANU: A man found guilty of seducing a married woman could face a RM5,000 fine, a three-year prison term, or both.
State Syariah chief judge Datuk Wan Mohd Zakri Wan Mohd said this offence falls under Section 43 of the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 2001.
"The Syariah Court can also order the wife to return to her husband. The man and the woman (involved in the affair) are considered to have committed a sin.
"This is because, in Syariah, the wife belongs to the husband.
"While some argue that the wife is not the property of the husband, in Syariah, the wife is considered the husband's possession, and the husband is responsible for her from A to Z," he told reporters today.
Wan Mohd Zakri noted that such transgressions contribute to divorces in Terengganu.
"There are cases involve married men seducing other men's wives in Terengganu, which do not end up being prosecuted, but often lead to marital dissolutions."
"One of the common reasons of divorce involve the wife leaving her home to follow other man and the couple ends up divorce," he said.
The Federal Court had previously annulled Section 498 of the Penal Code related to criminalising the act of a man seducing someone else's wife. deeming it unconstitutional.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat underscored that the section unlawfully discriminated based on gender, contrary to Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution.