Workplace romance busted after husband tracks wife using OT excuse

KULIM - A workplace romance was exposed after a woman who allegedly told her husband she was working overtime (OT) was caught for khalwat (close proximity) with a foreign colleague at his rented house here on Thursday.

The 27-year-old woman, a mother of two children aged six and eight, reportedly works at a factory in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, while the man is a 39-year-old single Chinese national employed at the same workplace.

Kulim District Religious Enforcement Officer (PADK) Anwar Sharifudin Mat Saad said the pair were caught by mosque officials in a ground-floor room of a two-storey house in a residential area at about 12.40am.

“The woman's husband had reportedly suspected something was amiss for some time, leading him to track his wife's movements.

“The wife frequently used doing OT as an excuse. During the arrest, the woman's husband was present alongside his parents-in-law,” he said.

During questioning, the woman claimed she had gone to her colleague's rented house to help him with work-related matters on his computer.

It is understood that the pair communicated using a translation application on a smartphone as the Chinese national was not fluent in English.

“During the inspection, officers also found two other Chinese men on the upper floor of the house, who were also colleagues of the man,” Anwar said.

The case is being investigated under Section 25(a) and (b) of the Kedah Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment (EKJSK) 2014 on suspicion of committing khalwat.