JAWI Officer Blamed Google For Not Giving Answers To Siti Kasim's "Provocative" Questions
According to the officer, Siti Kasim was demanding for a law provision she was being detained under.
By Jia Vern Tham — 31 May 2018, 02:07 PM
A senior officer from the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (JAWI) told a criminal magistrates court yesterday, 30 May, that she had to Google search for a law provision to arrest lawyer and activist Siti Kasim with in 2016
The officer, Siti Nor Jihan testified in the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex yesterday.
Malay Mail reported her as saying that she tried to answer Siti Kasim's "provocative" questions by using Google, but to no avail.
"I tried to find the section mentioned by the accused, but I couldn't find the section because she kept asking so many times: 'What section? What section?'" Siti Nor Jihan said, in reference to the Federal Territories Syariah Criminal Offences Act 1997.
"As far as I remember, my Google wasn't working well," she added.
Siti Nor Jihan was testifying at the trial of Siti Kasim, who is being charged for obstructing Nor Jihan from performing her duty during a raid at a transgender beauty pageant in April 2016
Siti Kasim is being charged under Section 186 of the Penal Code for hindering a public servant from executing her public functions. If convicted, she faces a jail sentence of up to two years, a fine not exceeding RM10,000, or both.
Previously, Malay Mail reported Siti Kasim as pleading not guilty to the charge.
In a Facebook video of the raid in 2016, Siti Kasim was seen being involved in a shouting match with JAWI officers and demanded a warrant to be shown.
Siti Nor Jihan, who was the deputy operations head during the raid, claimed that Siti Kasim constantly questioned JAWI's presence at the beauty pageant, and continued to challenge the officers despite being told that a pageant was against the Fatwa.
The Star reported Siti Nor Jihan as claiming that Siti Kasim tried to delay the raid in 2016.
"The situation was chaotic and tense. The accused tried to delay the raid and did not cooperate," Siti Nor Jihan said.
"We wanted to arrest the organiser... and not the accused, who continuously asked me which section of the Act JAWI wanted to arrest the organiser under," she added.
Siti Nor Jihan said the raid was conducted under Section 9 of the Federal Territories Syariah Criminal Offences Act 1997, following a public complaint.
Free Malaysia Today previously reported Siti Kasim as saying that when she asked for the offence the transgenders had committed, JAWI officers claimed it was because they organised a 'Miss World' contest
"I would not want to undermine their intelligence but if they cannot differentiate between a show and a real beauty contest, then they need to pray harder," Siti Kasim was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.
She was eventually detained by JAWI officers during the 2016 raid.