Former Tronoh Assemblyman seeks review of rape conviction and eight-year jail sentence

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27 Oct 2025 • 3:10 PM MYT
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Former Tronoh Assemblyman seeks review of rape conviction and eight-year jail sentence

On Oct 1, the Federal Court dismissed Yong’s final appeal against his 2019 conviction, affirming the rulings of both the Ipoh High Court in 2022 and the Court of Appeal last year - October 27, 2025

Yong is asking that the court’s decision be set aside and replaced with what he describes as “an appropriate and just order.”

FORMER Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong has filed an application to review the Federal Court’s decision upholding his conviction for the rape of his Indonesian domestic worker, for which he was sentenced to eight years in prison and two strokes of the rotan.

The 55-year-old lodged the motion through Messrs Rajpal, Firah and Vishnu on 23 October, seeking leave under Rule 137 of the Federal Court to review the ruling delivered on 1 October by a panel led by Chief Justice Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.

According to his affidavit, Yong is asking that the court’s decision be set aside and replaced with what he describes as “an appropriate and just order.”

His lawyer, Rajpal Singh, confirmed that Yong has been serving his sentence at Kajang Prison since 1 October. “My client still cannot accept that he has been convicted,” he told the New Straits Times.

On 1 October, the Federal Court dismissed Yong’s final appeal against his 2019 conviction, affirming the rulings of both the Ipoh High Court in 2022 and the Court of Appeal last year.

In a unanimous decision, Chief Justice Wan Ahmad Farid, sitting with Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Hanipah Farikullah, ruled that the conviction was safe. The bench found that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt the charge under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code — specifically that there had been penetration and that it occurred without the maid’s consent.

Yong, who was then a state assemblyman, was first charged at the Ipoh Sessions Court on 23 August 2019 with raping his maid at his home in Meru Desa Park between 8.15pm and 9.15pm on 7 July that year. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. - October 27, 2025

Federal Court, Paul Yong, Rape Case, Judicial Review, Criminal Justice, Kajang Prison, Court of Appeal, Penal Code Section 376, Chief Justice Wan Ahmad Farid, Rule 137