By Lawrence Bartlett
Kuala Lumpur - A bizarre tale of a bewitched palace, sexual jealousy and the murder of a beautiful royal bride is holding Malaysians spellbound as it unfolds in a sombre courtroom.
The cast of the story, which vies with the Iraq war for front page newspaper space, includes Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, 62, second in line to the Perak state throne and his first wife Raja Nor Mahani Raja Shahar Shah, 61.
The raja's second wife - as a Muslim he is entitled to four - is the murder victim, 26-year-old former model and actress, Hasleza Ishak.
'Our household had never been invaded by supernatural beings' Five men, including two 'bomohs' (witchdoctors), have been accused in the Taiping High Court in Perak of killing Hasleza. One of the bomohs, Mat Saad Isa, 50, confessed to manslaughter and has been sentenced to 14 years in jail.
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He admitted kidnapping Hasleza on October 6 last year, chopping her on the neck with his hand and throwing her off a bridge.
He told the court that the first wife, Princess Mahani, masterminded the killing.
In a former British colony obsessed with titles and social rank, professing Islam as the official religion, the case has created a scandal to eclipse the tabloid travails of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana.
The royal families of each of nine states are held in particular esteem, as Malaysia's unique system requires the position of king to be rotated among them every five years.
'Santau' is a devil. That's why you have to kill it Princess Mahani, a mother of two whose fading beauty is poignant beside that of the fresh-faced Hasleza in newspaper photographs, appeared in court herself this week to deny ordering her rival murdered.
She said she simply asked the witchdoctors to lift a black magic spell which she believed was causing her husband to act strangely and be cold towards her.
"Throughout our marriage, (my husband) had often been out of line but our household had never been invaded by supernatural beings," she told Judge Mohamad Noor Abdullah.
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