The 40-year-old man said the girl had consented to marriage
BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation)- A 40-year-old Malaysian man has married a 13-year-old girl he was accused of raping in an apparent attempt to escape criminal prosecution for statutory rape, The Star reported.
Riduan Masmud, a restaurant manager and father of four from Sabah, was in court Monday for raping the teenage girl when he announced she had become his second wife under sharia law.
According to The Star, the girl's father said he accepted his daughter's marriage to Riduan as they liked each other and Riduan’s wife also accepted it.
"There are many cases of men marrying underage girls. I do not see why my case should be any different," the paper quoted Riduan as saying.
Women's groups were outraged over the treatment of the girl who they say was too young to give her consent to sexual intercourse or marriage, the paper said.
A member of Sabah Women's Action Resource Group told The Star it was a dangerous trend.
"In Sabah, more than 50 percent of the rape cases involve underage girls," the paper quoted the group’s adviser Mary Lee as saying.
"This case is part of a worrying trend in which older men proposed marriage after being charged with statutory rape to circumvent the mandatory provisions of the Penal Code," she said.
Judge Ummu Khatom gave the Attorney-General's Chambers until June 6 to make a decision on whether to proceed with the case, The Star said.
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