By NURBAITI HAMDAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin has been sentenced to one month's jail for entering into a polygamous marriage without the consent of a Syariah Court.


The sentencing was ruled by Gombak Timur Lower Syariah Court Judge Wan Mahyuddin Wan Muhammad on Wednesday.

Bung's counsel Amli Embong has asked for a stay of execution for the imprisonment.

The 51-year-old Bung pleaded guilty to entering into a polygamous marriage without the consent of court on April 20 while his second wife, actress Zizie Ezette A. Samad, Zizie, 32, admitted to another main charge of entering a marriage without the consent of a marriage registrar.

Article 48 of the Federal Constitution states that an MP or state assemblyman will be disqualified if they are sentenced for a term of not less than one year or to a fine of not less than RM2,000 and has not received a free pardon.

Earlier, members of the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) created a ruckus outside the Gombak Timur Lower Syariah Court room when they voiced dissatisfaction on how entry into the courtroom was being handled.

Members of the press were asked to sign their names on a list and provide their media cards for verification, which the group described as “a strategy by the court and the family (Zizie and Bung's)” to not allow them in.

After arguing with the court officer and demanding to speak to the judge, the group were allowed in, taking the last bench in the court room.