Victims of ‘Lebai Lah’ syndicate urged to verify their marriage

KOTA BHARU: The Kelantan Religious Affairs Department (Jaheaik) is urging couples who got married by using the services of the ‘Lebai Lah’ syndicate from Kuala Krai to contact the department to verify the validity of their marriage following the arrest of the former imam on Oct 28.

Its director Datuk Che Mohd Rahim Jusoh said the enforcement team also seized several related documents including marriage forms from Thailand.

“We found that this syndicate had been active for long and not only in marrying couples in Kelantan but from other states too. In fact, it also charged different fees, especially for couples from other states.

“Therefore, I am urging couples who got married through the ‘Lebai Lah’ syndicate to come forward for confirmation by the court that whether their marriage is valid or not,” he said at a media conference here yesterday.

He said the actual number of couples who married through this syndicate was difficult to know as it had been operating for a long time.

“Such unregistered marriages will create problems such as to the status of the couples’ children and in getting a birth certificate for their children from the National Registration Department, in registering for schooling and making claims after a divorce or when reconciling, as well as to property inheritance,” he added.

Che Mohd Rahim said previously, Jaheaik had busted the ‘Imam Wahab’, ‘Imam Che Mud’ and ‘former Imam Muda’ marriage syndicates in Rantau Panjang , Machang and Ketereh, respectively.

On the three-month programme of validating marriages contracted without permission outside the country, he said it was aimed at encouraging voluntary registration of such a marriage by the couples involved and those that violated the Kelantan Islamic Family Law Enactment 2002.

He said that under the legalisation programme, the applicants or couples involved could come to the department during office hours, bringing along the relevant documents such as the marriage certificate, confirmation letter on the marriage conducted outside the state or country, and a copy of their identity cards.