'Datin' Rozita And Her Case Keeps Getting Weirder
After her no-show on 21 March, Rozita's new lawyer now says she will be in court on 29 March.
By Sadho Ram — 25 Mar 2018, 05:33 PM
Earlier this month, Rozita Mohamad Ali, a 'Datin' who abused her Indonesian maid, pleaded guilty under Section 326 for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means
And while Section 326 provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years, Petaling Jaya Sessions Court judge Mohammed Mokhzani Mokhtar allowed Rozita to escape jail time.
The judge simply placed her on a "good behaviour bond" of five years, overlooking the prosecution's point for a jail sentence considering the severity of the crime.
Judge Mokhzani defended his decision saying that it does not mean that "the accused had been freed". He said that if the 'Datin' was found involved in criminal activities, she could be charged again in the same case and sentenced to imprisonment.
The non-custodial sentencing of Rozita sparked a nationwide outrage. Amidst a call for a review of the judge's decision, over 70,000 Malaysians signed a petition calling for "equal justice".
The pressure from lawyers and netizens was enough for the High Court in Shah Alam to hear an application to review the sentence against Rozita.
The date March 21 was set for the review hearing of her 'good behaviour bond' sentence. However, Rozita and her bailor could not be located by prosecutors on the day for the scheduled review hearing. There was no news about her whereabouts.
The Selangor Prosecution Director even told the High Court that he and his team had gone to serve the notice of urgency, however, they could not find Rozita at the two homes listed to her in Damansara and her family home in Malacca.
The bailor, who also could not be located, is said to be a personnel with the Royal Military Air Force. The government officer's home is in the Subang base. The Malay Mail added that the prosecutor team went twice to the bailor's home.
High Court judge, Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah, then gave the prosecution until 29 March to trace and bring Rozita and her bailor, who is a government officer and is Rozita's "friend", to the court
While saying that the prosecution would "try their best to locate the respondent", the Selangor Prosecution Director added that his team will not seek the police's help to find the 44-year-old 'Datin', according to a report in The Malay Mail Online.
Amidst this, it was also reported that Rozita's lawyer is no longer representing her.
Datin Rozita photographed with her lawyer Mohd Yazer Yazid on 15 March. He is no longer representing her.
Image via KHAIRUL AZHAR AHMAD/NST ONLINENow, today, 25 March, almost five days after Rozita was to show up for her review hearing but didn't, her new lawyer has claimed that she did not flee from her court hearing, that she was "cooling down"
In a report by The Star Online, earlier today, the lawyer, Rosal Azimin Ahmad, was reported saying that Rozita went back to her kampung to seek medical treatment.
And the reason the prosecution couldn't reach her on 21 March is that she had turned off her mobile allegedly because she wanted to "cool down" after pleading guilty.
"She wanted to cool down. That's why she could not be contacted.
"Two days ago, she contacted us again and we arranged for the notice of hearing to be served on her in our office," Rosal was quoted as saying by The Star Online.
According to the report, the lawyer and the Datin would appear in court on 29 March.
Meanwhile, police say they are going leave it to the courts to decide if Rozita once again fails to turn up for her case on Thursday
"We have handed her the court notice for her to attend the proceedings. It is now up to the courts to decide the next course of action if she still fails to turn on," Selangor CID chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Fadzil Ahmat told NST Online.
So what would happen if 'Datin' Rozita is once again a no-show?
We will just have to wait till 29 March and see what the High Court decides.