Hotel songbird held for 'khalwat'

[Ganesha]

The Star/Asia News Network
Friday, Feb 15, 2013

GEORGE TOWN - A hotel singer was among 20 Muslims nabbed in Penang for allegedly committing khalwat (close proximity) on Valentine's Day.

The woman, in her 30s, was found inside a motel room in Gelugor with a man, also in his 30s, by enforcement officers from the Penang Islamic Religious Affairs Department during an operation codenamed Ops Jejak Kasih.

It is learnt that they had opened the door to their room only after relentless knocking by the enforcement officers at about 1am yesterday. Upon interrogation, the woman claimed she was a divorcee.

Department enforcement head Khairul Azman Azizan said the raiding party also picked up three men and two women, all in their 20s, from another room at the same motel.

A couple were found sleeping on the bed while another couple were sleeping on a mattress laid on the floor.

The other man, who was found in a cupboard with a bedsheet, told the raiding party that he was sleeping there.

Khairul said the five claimed they lived nearby and had rented the room at the motel because it was air-conditioned.

He said the raiding party also nabbed a Muslim man, in his 50s, who was in another room at the motel with a non-Muslim woman.

He said the other 12 people, aged between 19 and 50, were caught in Batu Feringghi, Tanjung Bungah and here during the six-hour operation which ended at 6am.

Khairul said the suspects would be investigated under Section 27 of the Penang Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment for committing khalwat. The offence carries a maximum RM3,000 fine or up to two years in jail or both.

 

[Ganesha]

Teen couple among 10 held in swoop

The Star/Asia News Network
Friday, Feb 15, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR - Ten people, including a teenage couple, were detained in an anti-vice swoop by the Federal Territory Department of Islamic Affairs (Jawi) on the eve of Valentine's Day.

The raids, which started around midnight and ended at about 4am yesterday, were carried out at several hot spots in the city, including budget hotels and public parks.

Jawi senior public relations officer Tuan Asmawi Tuan Omar said the couples were arrested for allegedly committing khalwat (close proximity).

He said the raids were part of the department's effort to reduce social ills among Muslims and to prevent vice during Valentine's Day.

"The number of couples arrested this year is quite small compared to previous years," he said.

Jawi enforcement officers, with the help of the police, checked eight budget hotels in Jalan Ipoh and Jalan Raja Laut and the areas surrounding Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.

The underage couple a 13-year-old boy and his 16-year-old girlfriend who were arrested in a budget hotel initially claimed that they had ran out of cash to call their parents.

Later, the boy told enforcement officers that the girl was actually his older brother's girlfriend and that he was there only to accompany her while waiting for his brother to fetch her. The rest were aged between 25 and 50.

All of them could be charged with close proximity, an offence punishable with fines and imprisonment. Three of them could also face charges of drinking alcohol.