GEORGE TOWN: The oldest daughter of deceased Teoh Cheng Cheng today filed an application at the Syariah High Court here to challenge her mother's religious status as a Muslim.
Medelyn Teoh filed the application against the Penang Islamic Religious Council, and the matter was mentioned before judge Zaim Md Yudin.
Counsel Wan Faridulhadi Mohd Yusoff told reporters that Cheng Cheng had not made the proclamation of the Muslim faith (syahadah).
He said Cheng Cheng had filed the forms and made the application to convert in 1997, but never received a response from the religious department, and also did not get a religious conversion certificate.
He further stated that Cheng Cheng and her live-in boyfriend did not get married.
Cheng Cheng reportedly died at her apartment in Macallum Street on Saturday.
At 1pm on Monday, just as her coffin was being prepared to be lifted into a hearse, the police arrived to stop the cortege from leaving the apartment compound, citing a “religious issue” as the reason.
About 90 minutes later, officers from the Penang Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JHEAIPP) came to claim the body, producing documents to show the woman had converted to Islam in 1997 and had adopted the Muslim name Nora Teoh Abdullah.
However, a family member argued that Cheng Cheng’s original name had remained unchanged in her MyKad.
Pending the court's decision, Cheng Cheng's body is lying at the Penang Hospital Mortuary.
