KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — Police are investigating a politician said to be a bigwig in the east coast of peninsular Malaysia who is suspected of molesting a woman married to his best friend at their house here in the national capital.
Ampang Jaya police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Farouk Eshak said the alleged victim, a 48-year-old businesswoman, filed a complaint on March 16 accusing the politician of sexually assaulting her while she was sleeping in the living room.
The incident supposedly took place last year around July or August when the politician was staying overnight with his wife at his best friend’s house.
The senior policeman said the woman related that she woke up when she felt someone kissing and touching her breasts, and that the politician immediately moved away and left her house with his wife.
“The complainant was afraid to make a police report all this while as she was worried it would damage her relationship with the suspect,” Mohamad Farouk said in a statement today.
“The complainant was also uncertain what to do since the suspect is an influential politician in an east coast state,” he added.
He said investigations have been carried out under Section 354 of the Penal Code, but no arrests have been made so far.
Section 354 makes it an offence to use criminal force with the intention to outrage the modesty or knowing that it would likely outrage the modesty of another person. The penalty is a maximum 10-year jail or fine or whipping, or any two of such punishments upon conviction.
Sinar Harian reported yesterday that police are looking for a politician in his 50s with a “Datuk” title to facilitate investigations into a sexual assault case.
The Malay daily cited unnamed sources saying the complainant had not reported the incident for fear of reprisal against herself and her husband as she claimed she owed a business debt to the politician amounting to RM200,000, adding that her assaulter tended to be “hotheaded” and owned a gun.
