Like many Indonesians, Halimah goes by one name only.
Today, the Syariah Court of Appeal dismissed a preliminary objection by the prosecution led by DPP Mohammad Zulkhairi Aziz.
The court ordered the prosecution to submit its affidavit in reply of the objection.
Halimah's case, pending at the Syariah Court in Penang since 2011, appears to be a first in Penang and Malaysia as the Syariah Court has no jurisdiction over Christians.
Her counsel is Wan Faridulhadi Mohd Yusoff, while Ahmad Munawar Abdul Aziz and Cecil Rajendra held a watching brief for the Legal Aid Centre.
Halimah, who hails from Bandung, has documents to prove that she is a Christian and was baptised at St Antonius Church in Medan on June 19, 1982.
She also has a family registry and a statement from the Indonesia Consulate that acknowledges her as a Catholic.
When met outside the court today, Halimah said since young, she never had any religious education and that her father is a Christian, while her mother, a Muslim.
She expressed sadness that she cannot return home for her daughter's wedding in May until the case is over.
"I have been seeing my family every year since I came here but have not done so since 2011, when I was detained," she lamented.
Wan Faridulhadi told reporters: "She was convicted and sentenced because she pleaded guilty as she was very frightened, and at that time, she was not represented by any lawyer.
"She was interrogated in court on what Christian denomination she belonged to and she could not answer as she was very scared.
"Only when she came out of court, she said she knew the answers to the questions," he said.
Two months jail
Her conviction carries a RM3,000 fine and/or two weeks in jail, or two months jail term, if she fails to pay the fine.
Wan Faridulhadi said in her defence, she will plead that she is not a Muslim and the guilty confession extracted from her was under duress.
"She claimed they kept forcing for a guilty plea from her," he said.
He said the prosecution also failed to provide proof that Halimah is a Muslim, while she has a family registry which shows that her husband and children are Christians.
Moreover the prosecution only read out the facts of the case to her and after that, told her to plead guilty, without reading her the charge sheet, he added.
Rajendra said the Bar Council LAC has written to the lower Syariah Court on Oct 24 last year to inform it that Halimah is not a Muslim.
Halimah was convicted and sentenced by the Lower Syariah Court under Section 27 (b) of the Penang Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment in May 15, 2012, and the case was judicially reviewed by the Syariah High Court of Penang on Dec 3, the same year.
In September last year, the Syariah High Court of Penang sustained the decision of the lower court, upon stay of execution, pending appeal by the defendants.
Halimah’s travails began on Dec 8, 2011, when six officers from the Penang Islamic Religious Department (JAIPP) raided a reflexology centre along Jalan Seang Tek, Penang, at about 11am.
They found Halimah, 42, a reflexologist, with a male customer.
They questioned her for about two hours, handcuffed her and carted her away to the JAIPP office in Seberang Perai.
"I was terrified when they were questioning me. I am uneducated and poor, I have parents and four children to feed, that is why I came here to work," said Halimah.
When she was nabbed, her employer of four years, Josephine Ong, posted bail of RM3,000 and she was released, pending appeal.
Ong had also lodged a police report stating that Halimah had been forced to admit that she is a Muslim.
Malaysiakini
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