Malaysian lawyer says law criminalising men who enticed married women is unconstitutional
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A businessman had been charged in court in 2020 for enticing a married woman in an apartment.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
PUTRAJAYA – A Malaysian lawyer told the Federal Court that a clause in the country’s Penal Code, which makes it a crime for men to entice a married woman, is unconstitutional and should be abolished.
Lawyer Jayarubbiny Jayaraj, who is representing a man charged with enticing a married woman, argued that Section 498 of the Penal Code violated women’s right to equality before the law, reported national news agency Bernama.
She said the section only accorded husbands the right to initiate criminal proceedings against a person who interfered in their marriage.
Therefore, Ms Jayaraj said the provision should be declared “unconstitutional” and repealed.
She also said the provision discriminates married women because it “treated women as their husband’s property”, and as such, makes it easier for husbands to abuse their wives.
She also referred to Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution, which states that there should not be discrimination against citizens regardless of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender in any law.
Ms Jayaraj and lawyers Jay Moi Wei Jiun and Puteri Batrisyia Abdul Latif are representing a businessman who is referring a constitutional question to the Federal Court on whether section 498 of the Penal Code is unconstitutional as it contradicts Article 8(1)(2) of the Federal Constitution relating to equality before the law and gender discrimination, reported Bernama.
The unnamed businessman, 53, had been charged in the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court in 2020 for enticing a married woman in an apartment in Selangor in 2018 after a police report was lodged by her husband.
Under Section 498 of the Penal Code, the man can be sentenced to two years in jail or fined or both if convicted.
A high court had in March 2023 allowed the man to refer the constitutional question to the Federal Court.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim said Section 498 is constitutional and does not violate Article 8(1)(2) of the Federal Constitution.
He added that the provision is not a discriminatory law, adding that a woman in a marriage cannot be classified in the same category as a man, particularly from the aspect of protection from violence and crime as it has different criteria.
“The objective of Section 498 is to protect the husband’s right to maintain a marriage”, Bernama quoted Datuk Yusaini as saying.
Bernama said Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat told both parties that the court reserved its decision.
