Man moves 11-year-old wife to remote area

KOTA BARU: A 41-year-old rubber trader, who gained international notoriety by marrying an 11-yearold Thai girl in June, said he has moved his wife to a remote area in Gua Musang to “avoid public scrutiny”.

The man, who has two other wives and four children, claimed that fellow villagers had “disturbed” and “insulted” his wife and her parents after learning of the controversial marriage via social media.

He claimed that villagers called his wife names and took pictures of the girl and posted them on WhatsApp.

In an interview with the New Straits Times Press yesterday, he said he had to take the drastic action of moving his wife and her parents to an estate hours away by car.

“This is a big test for us. She now lives far away, deep in the jungle. I have to drive for hours to reach her. But I am still strong.”

He said his wife and her parents were deeply disturbed by the action of the public.

“My wife’s happiness and safety is my priority now.

“I am willing to travel to the area regularly to send food supplies and pay for daily expenses as long as she feels that someone loves her.”

The girl is not in school, as it is claimed that she rejected a plan by her husband to place her in a tahfiz school.

But the rubber trader said he would persuade her to go to school.

“I will not give up. I will continue to conduct special prayers so that Allah will open her heart, (and she will) accept my plan to send her to study at a religious school as she has no interest to go to a normal school.”

The duo tied the knot at a mosque in Munduk, Thailand, on June 18. News of the marriage broke days later when the man’s second wife uploaded pictures of the couple on her Facebook page.

The man was subsequently investigated by the authorities and fined RM1,800 by the Gua Musang Lower Syariah Court last month for marrying without approval and entering into a polygamous marriage without consent.