Bella Astillah, Malaysian singer and actress, filed for divorce from her husband, Singaporean actor Aliff Aziz, after he was arrested by Malaysia's religious authorities for allegedly being in "close proximity" alone with Malaysian actress Ruhainies.
Bella, whose real name is Dayang Ara Nabellah Awang Astillah, told reporters outside the Syariah Lower Court in Kuala Lumpur on Mar. 13 that she believes a divorce would be the best way to resolve the situation, as reported by The Star.
"This is the best path for me and Aliff. I just want everything to go smoothly, considering that we are in the month of Ramadan now. I'm determined (to continue with the divorce) as I have already given him lots of chances," she said to the media.
New Straits Times reported that Bella wanted to "end this amicably" as Aliff is the father of her children.
She said:
"Hopefully, there's a silver lining to this. Love does not conquer all."
Bella and Aliff had divorced once in April 2019 after three years of marriage following allegations that Aliff was cheating on her.
They had a child before the divorce, and had another child after they got back together a year later.
The Star stated that Bella's lawyer, Azmi Mohd Rais, said that Aliff had agreed with her decision to divorce and was set to attend the proceedings on Mar. 13.
However, the actor was unable to attend due to his filming schedule. The hearing has been adjourned to Apr. 4.
What happened
Aliff was arrested on Mar. 9 in Kuala Lumpur by Malaysia's religious authorities after he was found with Malaysian actress Ruhainies in her condominium.
Ruhainies was also arrested.
Ruhainies told media it was not a case of "tangkap basah" (loosely translates to “caught red-handed”) — the colloquial term referring to restrictions on a man and a woman being alone and in close proximity (such as in a car, or in a hotel room) if they are not married or close relatives.
The restriction is known as "khalwat".
In an Instagram story on Mar. 10, Aliff addressed the news, claiming there was much speculation and "exaggerated reports" on the incident.
Aliff explains himself
In an Instagram post on Mar. 14, Aliff documented what allegedly happened that day.
He explained that he had gone to Ruhainies' condominium to help her carry some items from their shoot earlier.
He then claimed that when the officials came, he was in the living room waiting for Ruhainies's siblings to arrive so that they could all have dinner together.
According to previous reports, the religious authorities arrived outside the unit at about 10:30pm on Mar. 8.
According to Aliff's post, Ruhainies allegedly asked her sister to tell the authorities that they'd only open the door only if the religious authorities and police were present.
"They were very professional when going through the procedures. We went to give a statement at the religious authorities' office. After that, we went home," the post added.
He ended the post by saying:
"This statement is written for those who are willing to listen. However, what's wrong is still wrong. I'm not trying to right a wrong but I'd like to apologise for my oversight. I'd like to explain that nothing went down between us.
I'll take this as a test and as a lesson. I'll be more careful in the future. My oversight did not only spoil my reputation but my family too.
Once again, I'd like to apologise. Thank you for reading."
Related stories
Top photos via Aliff Aziz & Bella Astillah/Instagram