KUALA LUMPUR – Celebrity preacher Da’i Syed, whose real name is Syed Shah Iqmal Syed Mohd Shaiful, has been granted a stay of execution pending his appeal after being found guilty of raping a woman five years ago.
High court judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin allowed the application by Syed’s lawyer Mohamed Baharudeen Mohamed Ariff for a stay of execution on his 10-year jail sentence until his appeal was heard and decided at the high court.
Lawyer Datuk Abu Bakar Isa Ramat, who also represented the applicant, confirmed the matter to Bernama when contacted and said the hearing of the stay of execution was conducted under Section 311 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
September 24 was set for mention of the appeal at the high court.
However, Abu Bakar said the court imposed several conditions when granting the application without disclosing the specifics.
Syed was also represented by Datuk Wan Azmir Wan Majid and Muhammad Amin Othman in yesterday’s proceedings.
On August 30, Shah Alam sessions court judge Norazlin Othman sentenced Syed to 10 years in prison and three strokes of the cane, dismissing his application for a stay of execution on the grounds that no special circumstances warranted the stay.
The court meted out the punishment on him after he was found guilty of raping a 23-year-old woman in a room in a condominium unit in I-City, Section 7, at 1.35am on September 11, 2019.
He was charged under Section 376 (1) of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years and whipping, upon conviction.
On April 10 last year, the sessions court discharged and acquitted Syed, citing the prosecution’s failure to establish a prima facie case.
However, on March 7 this year, the high court allowed the prosecution’s appeal and ordered Syed to enter his defence. – September 21, 2024