JUDGMENT

Tengku Baharudin JCA:

The respondent in this appeal was earlier on convicted by the Sessions Court in Johor Bahru for an offence of rape. He was sentenced to imprisonment for 8 years and ordered to be given 8 strokes of the rotan. He successfully appealed to the High Court which overturned the said conviction and ordered his discharge and acquittal. We heard this appeal by the Public Prosecutor on 5 July 2004. At the end of the hearing we set aside the order of the High Court and restored the conviction and sentence imposed by the Sessions Court. We now give the reasons for our decision.

The complainant (SP6) was a 20 year old working girl staying away from her parents. She allegedly suffered from some stomach ailment which persisted despite her having sought treatment from several doctors. On her own father's (SP5) recommendation and persuasion, and being influenced by the demonstration of the respondent's extraordinary powers, she agreed to be treated by him. And feeling threatened and scared by the respondent's claim that disaster (bala) would befall on her or she would die unless she underwent his treatment, she also agreed to his condition of staying in his house for the duration of the treatment until she was cured. The purported treatment began on 24 July 1993 when SP6 was taken by the respondent to live with his wife and children at their squatter house and lasted until the middle of October 1993, except for the few days at the initial stage when she returned to work to give her notice to leave her job and then returning to her parent's house, only to be persuaded to return back to the respondent's house. The treatments from the respondent were usually preceded by recitation of Quranic verses, incantations in the name of Allah or prayers followed by sexual intercourse, vice versa or both. It was impressed upon SP6 that such was the will of Allah wherein she must submit, failing which she would become insane, meet an accident or die. Under such state of mind she submitted to the respondent's lust late at night and sometimes during the day. SP6 denied that she ever had any feelings towards the respondent, claiming that she received no pleasure from the sexual connections, and that at all times she believed that what was done unto her by the respondent was part of the treatment she had to undergo to relieve her suffering. She was taken in by the holy verses required to be recited, the elaborate rituals she had to undergo and the occurrences of strange happenings at times. Her faith was further strengthened by the advice of the respondent's wife that she should abide by his instructions as he had similarly treated numerous other girls when they were previously living in Pahang. She was also told that the respondent was not any ordinary bomoh but a holy man (Wali) and that hundreds of people had sought his treatment. SP6 denied ever having sexual intercourse with anyone before that. She only realized that she had been cheated when she did not menstruate and subsequently, after confiding with her mother and consulting a doctor, found herself to be pregnant. A police report was then lodged followed by medical examination by SP2 on 1 November 1993 which confirmed that she was 21 weeks pregnant.

In his defence, the respondent denied that SP6 stayed at his house for the purpose of medical treatment, contending that he allowed her to stay with him because her house was far away, and she wanted a place near to her place of work. He claimed that they had been friends for three month and that she was fully aware of the events that transpired and consented to the sexual intercourse. She was alleged to be angry with him for breaking his promise to marry her when he could not meet her conditions. She accused him of lying and they quarreled. He was arrested a week later and charged. The respondent also denied SP6's child to be his contending that she herself admitted to having a boyfriend before him.

The Records of Appeal show