Crime & Courts

Celebrity preacher Da'i Syed appeals against rape conviction

SHAH ALAM: Celebrity preacher Syed Shah Iqmal Syed Mohd Shaiful has filed an appeal at the High Court against his guilty conviction and sentence of 10 years jail and three strokes of the rotan after being found guilty of raping a woman five years ago.

Popularly known as Da'i Syed, the 29-year-old filed the appeal on Aug 30 via Messrs Syed Azri Partnership, the same day Sessions Court judge Norazlin Othman meted out the guilty conviction and sentence on him.

The appeal document sighted by the New Straits Times stated that Syed Shah Iqmal was dissatisfied with Norazlin's decision and was appealing against it entirely.

Syed Shah Iqmal's newly appointed lawyer, Datuk Abu Bakar Isa Ramat today said the High Court set Nov 5 for case management pending the grounds of judgement from the Sessions Court before a date to hear the appeal can be fixed.

"Last Friday, we obtained the stay of execution from the High Court against the sentence handed down by the Sessions Court.

"The High Court allowed him to be temporarily released on a RM35,000 bail with two sureties, along with conditions that he must not harass the victim and witnesses and report to the police station monthly.

"This is while waiting for the disposal of the appeal at the High Court and he will be temporarily released until then. If he breaches the conditions, the stay of execution can be withdrawn and he will be sent back to prison.

"The High Court also issued a gag order against us and him from discussing the facts of the case as it will be subjudice," he said after the case management proceedings before senior assistant registrar Nadia Othman.

Abu Bakar said they had on Sept 18 filed the application for the stay of execution as there were merits to consider.

The application was heard on Sept 20 before High Court judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin, who granted the stay of execution.

He said Syed Shah Iqmal was brought back to the Kajang Prison first to facilitate documentation procedures before he was allowed the temporary release before 5pm the same day.

Syed Shah Iqmal had been in prison for 21 days.

On Aug 30, Norazlin ordered Syed Shah Iqmal to begin serving his sentence immediately and dismissed his application for a stay of execution as there were no special circumstances that warranted it and his appeal to the High Court was not an automatic right to it.

In her judgment, Norazlin stressed Syed Shah Iqmal's role as a celebrity preacher had a huge impact on society, especially Muslims in the country, as well as youngsters and university students.

She said his act against the victim was unacceptable by common sense and that he, as someone who is trusted, had used his position on a victim.

Syed Shah Iqmal was charged with raping a 23-year-old woman at 1.35pm in a room at the condominium in i-City in Section 7 on Sept 11, 2019.

The charge under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code carries a maximum 20-year jail term and whipping.

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