Outrage after Malaysian marries 11-year-old Thai girl

KUALA LUMPUR: The marriage of a Malaysian man with a 11-year-old Thai girl has sparked outrage in the Muslim majority country with one activist on Sunday labelling the groom a "child predator".

Malaysian Muslims below the age of 16 are allowed to marry if they obtain the permission of a religious court. But the country’s women and families ministry said there was no record of religious authorities approving the union, which took place last month across the border in Thailand’s largely Muslim far south. "Our officers have gone to the house and met the girl’s mother. We are waiting for more reports before deciding on the next course of action," deputy prime minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was quoted as saying by the Sunday Star newspaper.