Ayah Pin’s children freed

The district Syariah Lower Court today released two sons and a daughter of cult leader Ariffin Mohamad.

This followed a request by the prosecution team led by Mustafar Hamzah of the state Religious Affairs Department. No reason was given for the request.

The three, Mohd Khairuddin, 20, Mohd Razlin Shah, 19, and Khairunadia, 18 were released unconditionally.

Khairuddin, met outside the courtroom, said he and his siblings were thankful to be released.

“We will be heading back to our home (dubbed “Sky Kingdom“) in Kampung Batu 13,” he said.

He added that all of them missed their father, better known as “Ayah Pin”, who is currently on the run.

However, 45 other followers whose cases were brought for mention today will be produced in the Syariah High Court in Kuala Terengganu on Aug 4.

Judge Wan Abdul Malik Wan Sidik ordered the case to be transferred upon request by Mustafar.

One of the 23 women was not allowed bail while five of the 22 men were granted bail. Those granted bail were mothers and the elderly.

The rest will be held under police supervision at the Pengkalan Chepa detention centre in Kelantan.

All the detainees except for Daud Mamat, 74, and Kamariah Ali, 54, were represented by state Legal Bureau representative Shukri Yusof.

They were charged under Section 10 of the Syariah Criminal Offence Enactment (Takzir) 2001 for violating a ruling prohibiting association with sects, which could see them jailed up to two years or fined up to RM3,000 if convicted.

Daud and Kamariah may also be charged under a different section as they had made a written declaration in August 1998 that they were no longer Muslims.

Counsel Haris Mohamed Ibrahim, who filed a habeas corpus application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday to drop all charges against the two followers, told reporters outside the court house here:

“They renounced Islam with an open mind. They cannot be charged at the Syariah Court.”

The followers were detained on July 20 at the Sky Kingdom headquarters in Hulu Besut.

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