The rise in khalwat cases is concerning as it involves individuals from the Muslim community. This issue should be taken seriously, considering the potential escalation to more serious offences, such as adultery, leading to harsher penalties and possibly even the mandatory hadd punishment.
This was said by Acting Chief Registrar of the Syariah Court of Appeal Pengiran Mohammaddin bin Pengiran Haji Aliakbar during the Syariah Courts’ annual assembly on Saturday while laying out the statistics recorded from 2023.
He said there were 870 cases recorded in the Syariah Subordinate Court under the Syariah Criminal Offences Code, 2013, where 432 cases of khalwat were under Section 196(1) involving Muslims and 25 cases under Section 196(2) involving non-Muslims with Muslims.
It marked a 36-per-cent increase compared to 2022, where there were 203 cases under Section 196(1) and a 43-per-cent increase in Section 196(2) cases which recorded 10 cases the previous year. In the past four years (2020-2023), 16 cases led to corporal punishment under the Syariah Criminal Offences Code.
In 2023, there were two cases of attempted adultery involving married individuals and 20 cases of attempted adultery involving unmarried individuals.
The Syariah Courts also registered 1,446 cases of mal, an increase of 73 cases (5.2 per cent) from 2022. The Syariah High Court recorded 2,279 cases, a decrease of 194 cases (7.8 per cent) from 2022.
In terms of criminal cases, the Syariah Lower Court saw an increase of over 100 per cent, with 870 cases compared to 429 cases in 2022.
The key performance indicators (KPIs) for case resolution indicated 58.1 per cent for criminal cases and 71.3 per cent for mal cases in the first and second quarters of the 2023/2024 fiscal year.
In collaboration with Syariah Judiciary Malaysia, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in 2023 to broaden expertise in Syariah justice, he said, adding that improvements in case management were implemented at the end of 2023 to facilitate public transactions, particularly those that are involving government agencies.
In 2023, Syariah Courts collected BND1,308,392.10 in revenue, including marriage-related fees, fines and penalties.
The acting chief registrar also reiterated that the focus for 2024 is improving customer service, enhancing Syariah Court capabilities, facilitating public access to justice and streamlining case management. – Fadley Faisal
