Appeals court affirms conviction, reduces jail sentence against ex-Tronoh assemblyman

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal here today reduced the 13-year imprisonment of former Tronoh Assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong for raping his maid to eight years jail with two strokes of the cane.

In a 2-1 majority decision, Justice Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who chaired the panel with Justice Datuk Azman Abdullah, affirmed the conviction against Yong while Justice Datuk S.M. Komathy Suppiah dissented.

On July 27, 2022, the High Court in Ipoh found Yong guilty of raping his 23-year-old Indonesian maid in his house in Ipoh, Perak between 8.15 pm and 9.15 pm on July 7, 2019.

The charge framed under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code. It provides a jail term of up to 20 years and is liable to whipping.