Native Malaysian court slaps bigamist with buffalo and pig fine

A court of a tribal community in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state on Borneo island found a man guilty of bigamy and sentenced him to a fine of a buffalo and a pig. The native court of the traditional Kadazandusun tribe, who live in the rural jungle areas of Sabah, also annulled the marriage between the 30-year old man and his first wife.

District chief Innocent Majakil and a six-member bench ordered the man to pay the fine for bigamy in the form of a buffalo worth 1,000 ringgit ($294) and a pig worth 300 ($88) to his three children, aged seven to 10, the Star daily said.

The man was also told to reimburse his first wife a total of 2,000 ringgit ($588) for their wedding expenses incurred 10 years ago.

Majakil said the man had violated Kadazandusun customs and traditions of remaining monogamous in a marriage.

Malaysia's eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak have thriving tribal communities who still run according to age-old traditions and customs despite experiencing modernisation.