The case has cast a spotlight on the wealth shared by the Taib family.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — More allegations are surfacing from the divorce trial of Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud’s son, with the latter’s wife today claiming that she suffered physical abuse and mental torment during their marriage.

Testifying at the retrial of her RM400 million divorce from Mahmud Abu Bekir at the Syariah High Court here, Shahnaz A. Majid recounted one incident in which her estranged husband had allegedly assaulted her after arriving home without his house keys.

“He knocked hard at the door as if trying to bring down the door. I rushed out of the bathroom,” Shahnaz was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini today,

“When I opened the door, he came darting in and punched me on the face and shoulder. He also kicked me on the stomach.”

Shahnaz further alleged that other similar incidents took place between 1994 and 1999.

Earlier, trial judge Mohd Abdul Karim Abdul Wahab had warned her lawyers over presenting such testimony at the divorce proceedings, after Mahmud Abu Bekir’s lawyers questioned their purpose.

But they insisted that it was necessary to show the reasons for the divorce.

Last week, Shahnaz also revealed that her husband had fathered a child with his Australian mistress, named as Louise Hiley, some years ago.

Mahmud Abu Bekir had even brought the Australian woman and another Russian woman, one Elena Vasilenko, to family gatherings when they were still together, she added then.

In her divorce papers, Shahnaz, who holds an MBA in finance, is seeking some RM400 million in divorce settlement, including matrimonial property and “mutaah” (Islamic conciliatory payment), as well as half the assets owned by her ex-husband, including some seven luxury cars, thousands of hectares of land in Sarawak, homes in

countries abroad and shares in about 15 companies.

According to previous media reports, Shahnaz had sought to end the marriage in accordance with the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984, citing her husband’s allege failure to give her “nafkah batin” (conjugal rights) since 2001.

The couple were married on January 9, 1992, and have an 18-year-old son, Raden Murya Taib Mahmud.

Earlier this year, the Syariah Appeal Court ordered the retrial of the divorce case after finding that the hearing for the “mutaah” had not been conducted according to procedure.

The case has cast a spotlight on the wealth shared by the Taib family, which has been under the close scrutiny of graftbusters and whistleblowers.

Last December, a witness from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) told the court that Mahmud Abu Bekir has amassed some RM1.3 million in savings and about 400,000 units in trust funds.

Prior to that, Shahnaz had also testified that her husband was worth more than a staggering RM1 billion.