Battling wives in Kelantan?

This is one of those love (or hate) triangular story.

30-year old bloke took a second wife. Why? Hmmm, hard to say as different people do it for different reasons.

All was well when No 2 wife resided in Terengganu, while No 1 wife in Kelantan.

Bloke did silly thing by moving No 2 wife up to Kelantan after 7 months of yin-yang bliss.

No 1 wife was enraged by discovery of No 2 wife, so she confronted No 2 and threatened to kill her. She shouted the obvious: "I will kill you because you married my husband."

I don’t know why people wasted so much effort in stating the bloody obvious. Surely it couldn’t have been: "I will kill you because you make lousy ketupat"?

It seems the 29-year-old No 1 held a knife to the second wife’s face. Most fortunately, there was no report of the zorro’s sign being marked out, as in ‘Z’ for zina (in No 1's perception)? Yes, No 1 did not go through with her threat and fled the house after the yelling, leaving the shocked No 2 in tears.

The police in the very important person of State Deputy Criminal Investigation Department chief Deputy Superintendent Suhaimi Chik Noordin revealed that No 2 wife then lodged a police report.

Supt Suhaimi said what I have just discussed: "The second wife has been married to the 30-year-old trader for the past seven months. Previously, she lived in Terengganu, away from the first wife. But recently her husband, who lives in Kelantan, moved her up to Bachok."

For such a mundane matter of family dispute, no doubt a dispute involving the sharing of a single … er … you work it out, why did it have to be the State Deputy CID Chief himself who briefed reporters? Why can’t an ordinary problem such as this be delegated to a police sergeant?

No wonder the police can’t solve the nation's crimes when their so-called ‘brains’ are wasted on briefing the media on grubby issues.

Supt Suhaimi said the police intends to haul No 1 in for questioning. If she is charged and found guilty of criminal intimidation, the woman could face a jail term of seven years. That’s cruel because there are extenuating or mitigatory circumstances in her favour.

However, I fear for her because even if the police found no case for her to answer, her husband being in the State of Kelantan could resort to Section 128 (1) of the Kelantan Islamic Law Enactment 2002, assuming he takes the side of No 2 in seeking some form of punishment for No 1. No 1 could then be subjected to a fine of RM 1,000 or jail of up to six months or both upon conviction.

What is this Section 128 (1) of the Kelantan Islamic Law Enactment 2002?

Well, in August this year, Kelantan deputy mufti Datuk Mohamad Shukri Mohamad told Berita Harian that wives would be deemed to be unjust and abusive if they cannot satisfy their husbands' sexual needs.

I ask again what I had asked in my previous posting Wives not satisfying husbands are abusive.

How would a woman be deemed to be ‘abusive’ if she can’t satisfy her husband’s sexual needs?

The Mufti explained that in a marriage, it's not always the wives who were abused as it could also happen to the husbands.

He (the Mufti, that is, not the hubby) advised that Islamic laws protect both women and men.

He warned: “Thus wives who do not provide proper care for their husbands, including not fulfilling their sexual needs, can be considered as being unjust and abusive towards their husbands.”

“These women can be charged under Section 128 (1) of the Kelantan Islamic Law Enactment 2002.”

But maybe No 1 could use this Section 128 against hubby, which is also applicable to men even though the Mufti spoke up in favour of them. Additionally she could claim the issue of her ‘not getting enough’ as a mitigatory cause for her lossing her ‘cool’ towards the hot No 2?

Hmmm, who do I blame on this marriage dispute that could possibly involve salacious matters?

Why, I have always suspected the terrible insidious effect of the East Coast aphrodisiac budu, of course – for more on budu, read Has Aphrodisiac Budu Been Responsible?