IPOH: Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong was sentenced by the High Court to 13 years' jail and two strokes of the rotan for raping his Indonesian maid three years ago.
Judge Datuk Abdul Wahab Mohamed delivered the judgment after Yong, who is also Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) treasurer-general and a former state executive councillor was found guilty of the crime.
Abdul Wahab held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
"The accused, who is also an employer, should protect his employee who is also a foreigner.
"However, the accused has acted without humanity, the accused has become a destroyer of the victim's future just to satisfy his lust...harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi.
"The court takes into consideration the public interest of this case and a lesson not only to the accused but also to those who have intentions to commit a similar crime.
"Even though the accused has no criminal record, public interest outweighs the interest of the accused and a deterrent sentence is required as a warning, with rape cases on the increase," he said while sentencing.
Earlier, in his 40-minute judgment, Abdul Wahab said the court found the victim as credible, honest, truthful and her statements convincing.
"The accused had said the victim has made up stories that she was raped because she wanted to go back to her hometown. This (claim) is baseless and can't be accepted by the court.
"Also the point raised on a political ploy against the accused (following the rape charge) cannot be proved," he added.
During mitigation, Yong's lead counsel Datuk Rajpal Singh said the accused was married, a father of four children and the sole breadwinner of the family.
He said this was his client's first offence and Yong had no previous criminal record.
Meanwhile, the accused's other counsel, Salim Bashir said his client was a politician and assemblyman for nine years.
"Within these nine years, he has done a lot of welfare work to help the people. The case does not involve an underage victim or a case involving incest," he said.
State prosecution director Azlina Rashdi asked for a deterrent sentence due to the nature and gravity of the crime.
Azlina said a first-time offence or no-prior record did not necessarily translate to a lower sentence as the victim would be scarred for life.
"We need to take into account his status as a leader, where he should be portraying a good example, and should not bring down the dignity of a person.
"He was not being exemplary and a deterrent sentence would ensure no one follows his footsteps.
"I want the court to take into account that the victim who is also an Indonesian come to the country alone. But she was persecuted by her employer while looking for halal earnings in the country," she said.
Rajpal told the court that they would be filing an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
The High Court also granted a stay of execution to Yong pending the appeal.
Abdul Wahab also increased the current bail to RM30,000 from the earlier bail of RM15,000 with one surety and instructed for his passport to be surrendered to the court.
On Dec 6 last year, the High Court ordered Yong to enter his defence to a charge of raping his Indonesian maid after the judge found that the prosecution had made a prima facie case against Yong.
Yong, 52, pleaded not guilty on Aug 23, 2019, to a charge of raping his 25-year-old Indonesian domestic helper at his house in Meru Desa Park on July 7, 2019, between 8.15pm and 9.15pm.
He was then the state housing, local government, public transport, non-Islamic affairs and new villages committee chairman.
The prosecution called 23 witnesses, including two protected witnesses, to testify during the trial which began on April 5; while the defence called three witnesses including the accused.