No escape from religious officers

The Sunday Times, January 3, 2010

A 20-year-old woman hid on a ledge outside a fourth-storey hotel room in Pahang to escape being caught in a raid by officers from the Pahang Islamic Affairs Department last Friday.

Her 28-year-old boyfriend had asked her to hide on the 20cm ledge when officers knocked on their door.

Opening it, the man told the team he was alone, but officers noticed a bra and a pair of women's shoes there. The team was at the hotel to conduct a New Year raid.

An officer then spotted the woman on the ledge. When asked to come inside, she refused and started crying. Her boyfriend was then asked to coax her back inside.

Chief enforcement officer Ahmad Raffli Abdul Malek said 59 people aged between 16 and 55 were arrested during raids in the state. They could be fined, jailed, or both, under a state law on religion and customs.