The Star Malaysia

15 months’ jail for ‘spiritual healer’ who molested two

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A SELF-PROCLAIMED “spiritual healer” was jailed for 15 months for molesting two women.

He had done so on the pretext of performing rituals on them.

Ab Razak Ab Hameed, 66, also took videos of the victims’ exposed bodies.

He had earlier pleaded guilty in March this year to two counts each of molestatio­n and insulting a woman’s modesty.

Five other similar charges involving two other victims were taken into considerat­ion by Principal District Judge Victor Yeo during sentencing yesterday.

The court heard earlier that Ab Razak performed massages and exorcism rituals on a foldable bed behind a curtain in his shop.

On May 25 last year, he told a 39-year-old woman who went to his shop that he could perform a ritual to protect her from “black magic”.

When she agreed, he asked her to sit on a chair and close her eyes. He lifted the woman’s shirt and bra, exposing her chest. He then applied oil on it.

He also took a video and several photograph­s of her on his mobile phone.

On another occasion a month later, Ab Razak told a 34-year-old woman that she was “possessed” and that he could perform an exorcism ritual on her.

Leading the woman to a foldable bed, Ab Razak then instructed her to remove her T-shirt and wrap a sarong over her torso.

While she was lying face up on the bed, he molested her and took a video of her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Chan had earlier urged the court to jail Ab Razak for at least 15 months, noting that he had made skin-to-skin contact with both victims.

Highlighti­ng his client’s age, poor health and limited mobility among other things, defence lawyer Gregory Fong had pleaded in mitigation to impose either a fine or a jail term of no more than six months.

In sentencing Ab Razak, Principal District Judge Yeo said he was satisfied the Singapore Prison Service would be able to manage the 66-year-old’s medical issues. — The Straits Times/ANN

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