A member of religious police was charged today with molesting a young woman at his office after she was hauled in for "khalwat", the offence of being caught with a man.

Mohamed Hafiz Kanimon, 21, an enforcement officer from the state religious affairs deparment in Selangor state, pleaded not guilty to forcing the 21-year-old factory worker to perform oral sex, the Bernama news agency said.

Prosecutor Mohamed Asyraf Kamal said Mohamed Hafiz had taken advantage of the woman.

Under the syariah law which operates alongside the civil code in multicultural Malaysia, close proximity between a man and a woman who are not married is forbidden.

If convicted, Mohamed Hafiz faces a maximum jail sentence of 20 years, as well as a fine and a whipping, Bernama said.