Chief Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, sitting with Justices Nordin Hassan and Hanipah Farikullah, ruled that Yong’s conviction was sound and ordered him to begin serving his eight-year prison sentence immediately.

Yong was found guilty by the Ipoh High Court in 2022 of raping his Indonesian maid at the time. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison and ordered to be whipped twice.

In a majority ruling last year, the Court of Appeal upheld Yong’s conviction but reduced his jail sentence to eight years.

Wan Farid today said the lower courts were correct to consider the Indonesian woman as a credible witness.

“She told the court that after the incident, the accused (Yong) warned her not to tell his wife, or else ‘you will die’.

“She then called her embassy in a state of panic and lodged a police report one day later (July 8, 2019),” he added.

Wan Farid also said there was no procedural breach of Section 265A of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows a court to hold an inquiry to determine whether certain witnesses can testify without being seen by the accused or lawyers.

“The accused claimed that Section 265A violated his right to be heard as he was not present during the inquiry proceeding.

“The accused has no right to be heard during the inquiry. This inquiry also does not affect his right to defend himself and (for lawyers) to cross-examine her (in the full hearing),” he said.

Yong was represented by Hisyam Teh Poh Teik and seven other lawyers, while deputy public prosecutor Amril Johari appeared for the prosecution.

Hisyam later told reporters that the family was devastated and would review the apex court’s full grounds of judgment before deciding on the next step.