Polygamist politician escapes jail
Malaysian lawmaker Bung Mokhtar Radin escaped jail over a polygamous marriage without official consent, as his second wife Zizie Ezette looks on (AP)
A Malaysian politician has escaped going to jail for entering a polygamous marriage without official consent.
Lawyer Amli Embong said an Islamic High Court ruled jailing Parliamentarian Bung Mokhtar Radin was too harsh.
Instead, the court outside Kuala Lumpur allowed him to pay the maximum fine of 1,000 ringgit (300 US dollars).
Bung Mokhtar, a politician of the ruling coalition, was sentenced in May to a month in jail for marrying a second wife without court permission.
The court imposed the jail sentence to set an example and warn people to respect Islamic law and take marriage seriously.
Muslim men can marry up to four wives in Malaysia, where two-thirds of the population follows Islam. But polygamy is not widespread and needs Islamic court permission.
Press Association
