00:01A dramatic turn in a case that raised eyebrows since it first emerged last month.
00:06On Tuesday, the High Court in Georgetown overturned a 12-month jail sentence
00:10that had been handed down to a couple found guilty of performing an indecent act at the Batu Gantung Chinese
00:16Cemetery.
00:17The pair, aged 58 and 37, had originally been sentenced by a magistrate's court on the 26th of March
00:23after pleading guilty to the offence, which took place at 8.30 in the morning on the 22nd of March
00:28at the cemetery grounds.
00:30They were charged under Section 377D of the Penal Code,
00:33an offence that carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
00:37Their defence counsel, Datuk Naran Singh, brought a criminal review application to the High Court,
00:42arguing that while the conviction was not in dispute, the 12-month sentence was disproportionately harsh.
00:48Notably, the prosecution did not object.
00:51Deputy Public Prosecutor Muna Mohamed Jafar informed the court that the prosecution accepted the defence's representation,
00:57clearing the way for the High Court to intervene.
01:00Judge Rufiya Mohamed allowed the application,
01:03setting aside the 12-month sentence while maintaining the couple's convictions.
01:07The court commuted their punishment to the period already served from the date of their arrest,
01:12on the 23rd of March, up until today's disposal of the review.
01:15The couple was ordered to be released immediately.
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