Singaporean singer Aliff Aziz and Malaysian actress Ruhainies to face trial over allegations of close proximity
On Wednesday, Singaporean singer-actor Aliff Aziz, 33, and Malaysian actress Ruhainies, 31, pleaded not guilty to charges of being in close proximity to one another, which led to their arrest by officers from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) at an apartment in Kuala Lumpur on March 9.
Aliff and Ruhainies were charged under Section 27(a) and Section 27(b) respectively of the Sharia Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997, which, if found guilty, carry a maximum high-quality of three,000 ringgit (US$637) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or each.
Speaking to media representatives outside the Federal Sharia Court in Kuala Lumpur, Aliff and Ruhainies appealed to the general public to wish for the case to proceed easily.
The two also answered questions from reporters, explaining that, despite reports in some media, they arrived at court individually and didn’t meet.
Aliff explained that he was resting “mentally, emotionally and physically.”
“I’m also a standard person, despite the fact that I’ve made mistakes. So I’m taking this time to rest and spend time with my family… and strengthen family ties.”
Asked for her thoughts on how Aliff’s ex-wife Bella Astillah “congratulated” her on “successfully destroying (Bella’s) marriage,” Ruhanies replied, “Because today [proximity] the matter concerns a separate issue which I don’t need to debate [Bella’s] thing.”
The trial will resume in October and bail for Aliff and Ruhainies has been prolonged.
