An Islamic court in the central state of Malacca ruled as void the marriage
between 40-year-old Mohd Sufian Mohamad and 43-year-old Zaiton Aziz after
medical examinations showed Sufian was a woman, the New Straits Times said.
Same-sex relationships are not recognised in this moderate Muslim country which
also bans Muslim transsexuals from changing their gender.
A mosque official solemnised the marriage between Sufian, who was born Mazinah
Mohamad, and Zaiton in December 2002 but the state religious affairs department
refused to register the marriage after becoming suspicious of Sufian's gender.
"According to (Zaiton's) statement, she had never seen or touched her husband's
private parts and had taken him to be a man all along and that she felt good
and satisfied together (with her partner)," Judge Che Saufi Che Husin said in
the ruling.
"This is astounding and illogical, It is abnormal to go through life as husband
and wife as such."
He gave the couple 14 days to appeal, The Star newspaper said.
The couple did not show any emotion when the judgment was read out, said the
newspaper, which carried a photograph of a bespectacled Sufian sporting a
crew-cut and Zaiton in a headscarf and traditional Malay dress.
