KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Parti Bangsa Malaysia’s (PBM) said today it will review Paul Yong’s position in the party after the latter was found guilty by the High Court in Ipoh today of raping his former Indonesian maid three years ago.

PBM’s information chief Zakaria Abdul Hamid said the matter will be discussed in the party’s supreme council monthly meeting on Friday this week.

"As a political party that supports the rule of law, we greatly respect the decision made by the Ipoh High Court regarding the Yong case.

"At this point, we were informed that he had been allowed to appeal to a higher court. We are very confident in the country's judicial system and believe that the legal process that he will go through will be fair and just,” he said in a statement.

Yong quit DAP after Perikatan Nasional took over the Perak government in March 2020.

He then joined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia in December 2020.

However, Yong quit the party to join PBM in January this year. He currently holds the treasurer-general post in the party.

Earlier, the High Court in Ipoh sentenced the Tronoh assemblyman to 13 years of jail and two strokes of the cane after finding him guilty of raping his former Indonesian domestic helper.

Yong’s counsel Datuk Rajpal Singh and Salim Bashir asked the court for a stay of execution as they planned to file an appeal against the verdict, which was granted.

But the judge ordered Yong to surrender his passport to the court and set bail at RM15,000 with one surety.