PUTRAJAYA, Oct. 1 -- The Federal Court has upheld the conviction and eight-year prison sentence of former Tronoh assemblyman Paul Yong Choo Kiong for raping his Indonesian domestic worker six years ago.

A three-judge panel led by Chief Justice Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh dismissed the 55-year-old politician's final appeal, ordering him to begin his sentence immediately. The sentence also includes two strokes of the cane.

According to a Sinar Harian report, Yong appeared dejected in the dock after the ruling. His wife and children, visibly emotional, held his hand before he was taken away by prison authorities.

He was first charged in the Ipoh Sessions Court on Aug 23, 2019, with raping his 23-year-old domestic worker in a roo...