KUALA LUMPUR: The Gombak Timur Lower Syariah Court on Wednesday, May 19 sentenced Kinabatangan member of parliament Datuk Bung Moktar Radin to one month's imprisonment for entering into a polygamous marriage without the court's permission, in a strongly worded judgment proposing harsher penalties to curb the offence.

The 51-year-old Sabah politician had earlier pleaded guilty when charged under Section 124 of the Islamic Family Law Enactment (Selangor) 2003. It provides for a maximum fine of RM1,000, a jail term of not more than six months or both.

Syariah judge Wan Mahyuddin Wan Muhammad also fined Bung Moktar and his second wife Zizie Izette Abdul Samad the maximum penalty of RM1,000 for marrying without the permission of the Registrar of Marriage, Divorce and Reconciliation.

The second charge was under Section 40(2) of the same enactment. The RM1,000 fine meted out and later paid by the couple was in lieu of one month's imprisonment.

In his judgment, Wan Mahyuddin said it was about time that harsher penalties were introduced to curb unauthorised polygamy and marriages conducted without adherence to Islamic regulations.

He said that couples found guilty should be barred from registering their marriages subsequently as the "cruel" penalty was necessary to discourage others from repeating the offence.

"Given today's reality, the RM1,000 maximum fine is inadequate as people can afford to pay it. It is not the best solution to make them repent and educate others," Wah Mahyuddin added.

The judge also pointed out that Bung Moktar's defence did not state how the marriage was "just and necessary".

Wan Mahyuddin said he agreed with the prosecution that Bung Moktar, as a member of the Dewan Rakyat, should have had more respect for laws passed by parliament and state legislative assemblies as the latter had taken an oath to uphold the laws of the country.

He noted that the case had received wide media attention and that the couple were "idols and icons" to society, thus necessitating a fitting punishment to deter others from following in their footsteps.

He added that if a harsh sentence was not delivered it would seem as if syariah laws could be "toyed with".

Bung Moktar and Zizie had pleaded guilty on April 20 to entering into polygamy without prior court permission when they were married in a house in Taman Melati, Gombak at about 8.50pm on Dec 16, 2009.

Bung Moktar married his first wife Datin Nor Asidah Alimuddin in 1991 and they have four children, according to the facts of the case.

The court on Wednesday also imposed a RM1,000 fine in lieu of a six-month jail term on Zizie and five others who had witnessed the couple's solemnisation ceremony last year.

The five are three of Zizie's brothers — Ahmad Shahazmi Abdul Samad, 48, Samzy Fuzette Abdul Samad, 34, Shaheizy Sam Abdul Samad, 27 — as well as Bung Moktar's friends Sahari Ahmad, 54, and Titing Putang, 56.

They had also pleaded guilty to abetment on April 20.

Ahmad Shahazmi faced the additional charge of giving away Zizie in marriage to Bung Moktar without the consent of the marriage registrar on Dec 16. He was also fined RM1,000 in lieu of one month's imprisonment.

Wan Mahyuddin said Bung Moktar should have first gone to the courts for permission to marry a second wife as the courts had the power to authorise his second marriage, even if he had not obtained the consent of his first wife.

The Islamic Family Law Enactment (Selangor) requires a man to obtain permission from the court and his first wife before entering into a polygamous marriage.

Wan Mahyuddin on Wednesday also granted Bung Moktar's application for a stay of execution pending the latter's appeal and released Bung Moktar on a RM1,000 bail with one guarantor.

Asked by reporters if he was expecting the jail sentence, Bung Moktar said he "was not expecting anything" and had left it to God.

Bung Moktar and Zizie flashed smiles for the cameras as they left the court compound, with Zizie telling reporters, "Thank you for coming."

Speaking to reporters, the lawmaker's lawyer Amli Embong said he would file the notice of appeal at the Shah Alam Syariah High Court "as soon as possible" but within the requisite 14 days from the date of sentencing.

When asked, Amli said they did not seek to justify how the polygamous marriage was "just and necessary" as the question only arose when a couple was applying to the court for permission to enter into polygamy.

"The marriage has already been solemnised. There's no question of just and necessary.

"There are two different issues; first whether the marriage is valid and whether the marriage was solemnised according to Islamic law (hukum syarak)," he said.

Amli added that Bung Moktar and Zizie would file an application for their marriage to be registered but was unable to say when they would do so.

Prosecution was conducted by Selangor syariah division public prosecutors Zulsyarafain Yusof and Shafeszan Rusli.