City officials claim they spotted Ooi Kean Thong and Siow Ai Wei hugging and kissing at a park near Kuala Lumpur's landmark Petronas Twin Towers in 2003, said attorney S. Selvam.

Such acts are deemed indecent under a Kuala Lumpur bylaw.

But Selvam denied that Ooi, 24, and his girlfriend Siow, 22, were engaged in such acts and said they were only summoned to court because they refused to offer a bribe to the enforcement officials.

"The girl was playing a violin and the boy was reading to her," he said.

In his ruling Tuesday, Malaysia's Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim rejected the couple's plea that the national constitution doesn't give city councils latitude to enact and enforce morality bylaws.

Such public displays of affection go against the fabric and "morality of the Asian people," he said.

"In England, those acts are acceptable to the people of that country, but is kissing and hugging acceptable to Malaysian citizens?" Fairuz said in the ruling.

About a quarter of Malaysia's 26 million people are ethnic Chinese, while Malay Muslims form about 60 percent of the population. Under Islamic law, unmarried people of the opposite sex are forbidden to show affection in public and may not remain together in a room without a chaperone present.

Selvam argued that in Malaysia's multiethnic society, which has a reputation for being progressive, hugging and kissing in public should be considered an expression of love. And he hinted the ruling could scare tourists away.

"This decision by the court means that foreigners kissing can now be issued a summons by the Kuala Lumpur City Council," Selvam said.

The couple will return to court in June to face indecency charges, and if convicted face a year in jail, Selvam said.