Remaining charge withdrawn for ex-massage therapist who taught doctrine contrary to Islamic laws

SINGAPORE - A former massage therapist given a jail sentence in 2025 over teaching a doctrine contrary to Islamic laws has had his remaining charge withdrawn.

Following a trial, Mohd Razif Radi, 68, was sentenced to four months’ jail in July that year on one count of the offence under the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA).

The remaining charge accused the Singaporean of operating a Muslim religious school that was not registered by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS).

A State Courts online portal stated that Razif was granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal over this charge, following a pre-trial conference on May 5.

“After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the matter, including the conviction and sentence on the AMLA charge, the prosecution withdrew the (pending) charge...with the consent of the court,” said the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) on May 11, in response to The Straits Times’ queries.

An AGC spokesperson added that if the conviction on the AMLA charge is subsequently set aside, the court may proceed with the trial for the charge relating to the school.

In earlier proceedings, the court heard that Razif, who had never been an Islamic teacher under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme, taught his followers that gambling could be made permissible, and that a man and a woman could be validly married through a “spiritual marriage”.

MUIS had stated on its website that gambling is prohibited in Islam.

It also said that a spiritual marriage is one that occurs without several elements, such as witnesses, a formal solemnisation and dowry.

MUIS said: “In most cases, there are no limitations on the number of women ‘married’ to a man through such deviant spiritual marriages. Such acts occur either between followers of a particular teaching, or between the teacher and his students.”

Razif had also claimed he could summon the spirit of one “Mbah”, who was purportedly Prophet Muhammad or from the Prophet’s line, the court heard.

During the trial, a man, who cannot be named due to a gag order, told the court he found out that Razif needed 13 wives.

The former follower said: “He suggested that we do a (spiritual marriage) and look for ladies out there to pursue his belief to get these 13 wives.”

The man also testified that he was present when Razif took a female business owner as his “wife” in one such spiritual marriage.

The man had told the court that he and his then wife attended Razif’s classes together from 2004 to 2007.

The wife continued to attend them after he stopped doing so. She later became cold towards her husband and wanted a divorce in 2008.

Their divorce was finalised two years later, and the woman received full custody of their daughter, the court heard.

The man did not state if the woman became one of Razif’s spiritual wives, but she later set up a business with the former massage therapist.

Razif, who took the stand in November 2024, denied multiple allegations against him, saying that he had not conducted religious classes.

He also said that he had never heard of “spiritual marriages” before the start of the court proceedings against him.