Lilith
07-12-2006, 04:02 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - An indigenous man in
Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo Island was fined a
buffalo and a pig for breaking a tribal custom by
secretly marrying a second wife, a tribal court
official said Wednesday.
The 39-year-old man was asked to compensate his first
wife and children with a buffalo and a pig even though
he agreed to dissolve the second marriage and return
to his first wife and family, Kota Kinabalu Native
Court chief William Majimbun told The Associated
Press.
The court handles cases only relating to laws of the
native indigenous people in Sabah.
Majimbun said the man, whose identity has been
withheld, performed the second marriage secretly in a
remote village in 2003.
"Indigenous custom doesn't normally punish men who
marry a second time, but in this case, he did not get
the permission of the first wife," Majimbun said. "The
case was handled based on customary laws."
Native Courts in Sabah's 21 districts function
alongside the civil and Islamic Sharia courts, and are
presided over by district chiefs assisted by tribe
leaders, according to The Star newspaper.
Kadazans and other indigenous people make up less than
5 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people, although
the groups represent the majority in the states of
Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo.
Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo Island was fined a
buffalo and a pig for breaking a tribal custom by
secretly marrying a second wife, a tribal court
official said Wednesday.
The 39-year-old man was asked to compensate his first
wife and children with a buffalo and a pig even though
he agreed to dissolve the second marriage and return
to his first wife and family, Kota Kinabalu Native
Court chief William Majimbun told The Associated
Press.
The court handles cases only relating to laws of the
native indigenous people in Sabah.
Majimbun said the man, whose identity has been
withheld, performed the second marriage secretly in a
remote village in 2003.
"Indigenous custom doesn't normally punish men who
marry a second time, but in this case, he did not get
the permission of the first wife," Majimbun said. "The
case was handled based on customary laws."
Native Courts in Sabah's 21 districts function
alongside the civil and Islamic Sharia courts, and are
presided over by district chiefs assisted by tribe
leaders, according to The Star newspaper.
Kadazans and other indigenous people make up less than
5 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people, although
the groups represent the majority in the states of
Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo.