Woman retracts molest report against Iraqi religious preacher

KUALA LUMPUR: A woman who lodged a molest report against a religious preacher from Iraq, who is said to be close to top Malaysian VVIPs, has retracted her police report.
The 21-year-old woman, from Penang had lodged the report last week and had claimed she had befriended the foreigner in Facebook three weeks earlier.
She claimed that the preacher had lured her to Kuala Lumpur and had promised her shelter at a religious school.
However, on her arrival here on July 24 – about 10 days after communicating with him, the Iraqi who has Malaysian permanent residence status, took her to a house believed to be in Kepong.
The woman alleged that in the house, the foreigner who is in his mid-40's and purportedly an Islamic preacher sat next to her and started making advances and at one point event hugged her.
The terrified woman got up and dashed into a room before locking herself inside and several hours later, she sneaked out of the place and escaped home to Penang.
She lodged a police report and when a group of men got wind of the incident, they apprehended the man and handed him to police.
The foreigner was remanded for four days for investigations before being freed on bail.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Commissioner Datuk Amar Singh Ishar Singh (pix) said today that the woman had applied to retract the report.
"The complainant wants to retract the report but we will conclude our investigations and submit our findings to the Attorney-General Chambers to seek further advise on the case. The case is for outraging modesty under Section 354 of the Penal Code" he told theSun.
Amar Singh also confirmed that the man had previous criminal records but did not divulge details.
It is believed that the man's past records are for trespass, molestation, domestic violence and gang-robbery.
Asked if police will propose to the relevant authorities to revoke the foreigner's PR status, Amar Singh said police will first wrap up the investigations and examine the findings before considering it.
A video of the man being apprehended by several well-built men went viral in social media over the week.
Photos of the man posing with top politicians of Umno, PKR and PAS at banquets and events also accompanied the video.