News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A Muslim court has fined a 41-year-old man for marrying an 11-year-old girl because he didn't ask for permission - but he has been allowed to keep his child bride.

Che Abdul Karim Che Hamid reportedly married the child without the approval of the syariah (sharia) court or his current two spouses.

The marriage to the girl prompted international fury at the start of the month when a photo of Che Abdul Karim holding hands with the girl after the nuptials was shared on social media.

In a deleted post Che Abdul's second wife Effa Zulkifle wrote "congratulations on your wedding, my husband 41, and his other wife, 11", local media said.

Then the wealthy scrap rubber dealer told the Borneo Post : "I was disappointed with various criticisms and allegations made against me in the social media after I took her as my third wife."

(Image: Twitter)

Che Abdul Karim pleaded guilty at the Gua Musang syariah court in north-western Malaysia and was fined 900 malaysian ringgits (RN) or £170 for each charge.

His new bride's impoverished parents previously said they agreed to the marriage on the proviso that she lived with them until she was 16, according to local media.

A condition Che Abdul Karim said he intended to keep to, adding he would not get a wedding certificate until she reached that age.

Local media said the couple were married by an imam in the Thai border town of Sungai Golok in June.

The bridegroom already has two wives and six children aged between five and 18.

The 41-year-old was charged with solemnising a marriage and polygamy without obtaining the syariah court's permission.

(Image: AsiaWire)

The minimum legal age for marriage in Malaysia under civil law is 18.

However, girls can marry at 16 with the permission of their state's chief minister, while Islamic law sets a 16-year minimum age for girls and allows even earlier marriages with the permission of the sharia court.

According to local media, the offences came under Section 19 and Section 124 of the Kelantan Islamic Family Law Enactment No. 6 of 2002.

Judge Mohd Surbaineey Hussain ruled that neither a registrar or syariah judge had authorised the middle-aged man to marry the girl.

Che Abdul Karim had earlier appealed to not be sent to prison for the offences. He has already paid both fines, according to reports.

(Image: AsiaWire)

(Image: AsiaWire)

At the time of the wedding in June the Malaysian government said they had no record of the wedding launched an investigation. It was believed that the ceremony took place in Thailand.

"The ministry looks seriously upon underage marriage... The ministry wants to discuss and cooperate with religious councils to examine and tighten laws so it can eradicate the issue of underage marriage" said a statement from the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.

Che Abdul Karim has now obtained a marriage certificate from the Narathiwat Islamic Religious Council (NRC), according to local media.

Hashim Yusof, the Islamic official who presided over the union, revealed: "I explained to him that he needed to register their marriage in Malaysia as well."

The girl's father Madroseh Romsadsa reportedly justified the child marriage, claiming that he delayed his daughter's birth certificate registration and that she is actually 12 or 13 years old.

Syariah, the Malay spelling of 'Sharia', deals with exclusively Islamic laws and has jurisdiction upon every Muslim in Malaysia, according to official sources.

According to Unicef, child marriage is in decline around the world. However, the charity estimates that 21 per cent of women aged 20 to 24 were married as children. The most number of child brides are in South Asia.

Malaysia's English language newspaper, The Star, reported in 2016 that there were over 9,000 child marriages recorded over the previous five years.