KOTA BARU: The 41-year-old man who married an 11-year-old girl without the consent of the Syariah court could be charged under the Islamic Family Law Enactment 2002, said Kelantan Syarie deputy public prosecutor Zaini Sulaiman.
He said the marriage was in violation of the enactment as the man did not get the consent from the court to wed the child and permission from his two other wives for polygamy.
“He can be charged under Section 23 and 19 of the enactment which carries a maximum penalty of RM1,000 fine and six-month imprisonment (for each offence).
“We asked the man and the girl to be present in court to register the marriage as soon as possible.
“Legal action can only be taken against the man as the girl is a Thai national,” he said when met at his office in Lundang today.
He said the marriage of underage children must be viewed from different aspects; whether the child was forced into marriage or there were other reasons before the court delivered the judgment.
“If poverty was the reason for the union, we will not give the consent as the girl is still in a tender age and there were possibilities of the couple getting a divorce later on,” he said.
On government calling for the marriage to be nullified, Zaini said decision had yet to be made as the investigation on the case was still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the state Family, Social Welfare and Women Development chairman, Mumtaz Md Nawi said she would first meet the couple’s families before issuing any statement.
“The marriage is allowable in Islam. If it took place in Thailand, the couple should seek the consent of the authorities there, not Malaysia,” she said, refusing to comment further.
The marriage had sparked outrage among Malaysians who called for the minimum legal age for marriage to be increased from 16 to 18.
According to the Islamic Family Law Enactment, the minimum legal age for marriage is 18 for a male and 16 for a female.
Those under the legal minimum age will be permitted to get married only if they had the consent of their parents and the syariah court.
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