Caught for khalwat 2 hours after park warning
PASIR GUDANG: A Muslim couple in their 20s were chased away by religious officers in an antivice operation at a park during the National Day countdown, only to be caught again two hours later for committing khalwat (close proximity) in a hotel room.
The couple were detained about 2am yesterday in a budget hotel in Masai.
Johor Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ) personnel initially apprehended the male, 20, and his lover, 21, when they were among 40 people rounded up in Bukit Layang-Layang, Pasir Gudang, for indecent behaviour in dark areas of the park.
A state-level National Day eve countdown was held at the park on Wednesday night.
A JAINJ officer, who caught the couple for the second time, told them that he had no choice but to nab them for khalwat.
“Don’t you remember me? “I was the one who asked you to leave the park and not do anything that is against the religion as you two are unmarried.
“But now I find both of you in this room committing khalwat.
“We have to detain both of you under syariah law.”
JAINJ enforcement deputy director Mohd Hafiz Abdul Rahman said the raiding team detained four people.
The team had earlier issued syariah court orders to another 14 youths, some as young as 14, for indecent behaviour in Bukit Layang-Layang.
The four people from the budget hotel were taken to the Masai police station at 3am and were later taken to the JAINJ headquarters in Johor Baru to have their statements recorded.
Section 27(1)a and Section 27(1)b of the Johor Syariah Law Criminal Offences Enactment 1997 states that the offence of khalwat carries a fine of RM3,000 or imprisonment of two years, or both, upon conviction.
The 14 people suspected of indecent behaviour will also have their cases heard before a syariah court judge, under Section 29 of the same enactment.
Hafiz said: “School and public holidays are times when these couples think they are free to do what they like without parental supervision.
“I hope parents will keep tabs on their teenagers as commiting khalwat is an offence in Islam,” he said.