Time to review natural life jail term, say lawyers
Salim Bashir says the natural life imprisonment term is akin to a death sentence.
PETALING JAYA: A senior criminal lawyer has called for the government to review the natural life imprisonment term, saying the punishment is akin to imposing a death sentence.
Salim Bashir said the incarceration of a convicted person until he dies takes a heavy toll on his emotional and mental health.
He said, as a result, some of his clients have even expressed a preference for the death penalty instead of languishing behind prison walls indefinitely.
Salim, a former Bar Council chairman, said this after a canopy supplier recently won his freedom for alleged trafficking in firearms.
The Court of Appeal on Dec 3 allowed T Jegan’s appeal after he had served seven years in jail.
Delivering the court’s verdict, panel chairman Justice Kamaludin Said described Jegan as “the luckiest man” for getting his freedom back.
He was charged with trafficking three pistols and a revolver in front of a house in Jalan Bukit Mewah in Kajang on Dec 18, 2015.
Salim said new law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said should consider reviewing the propriety of the natural life imprisonment term as she mulls the abolishment of the death penalty.
He said offenders under the Firearms Act (Increased Penalty) should be limited to a maximum of 30 years in jail instead of being incarcerated for their natural life.
Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali said the liberty of the accused will be taken away if the person is held in custody until he dies.
Taking into account a High Court judgment that since the life expectancy of Malaysian men was 70 and a jail term beyond that age would be undesirable, Jegan, 36, would have been unproductive for 34 years had his High Court conviction been maintained.
“Perhaps, Parliament could give the court the discretion to impose either the death penalty or a jail term of up to 30 years as smuggling of firearms is quite a serious offence,” he added.
Rafique said such offenders were also entitled to a pardon from the head of state after serving a portion of their jail sentence.
PETALING JAYA: A senior criminal lawyer has called for the government to review the natural life imprisonment term, saying the punishment is akin to imposing a death sentence.
Salim Bashir said the incarceration of a convicted person until he dies takes a heavy toll on his emotional and mental health.
He said, as a result, some of his clients have even expressed a preference for the death penalty instead of languishing behind prison walls indefinitely.
Salim, a former Bar Council chairman, said this after a canopy supplier recently won his freedom for alleged trafficking in firearms.
The Court of Appeal on Dec 3 allowed T Jegan’s appeal after he had served seven years in jail.
Delivering the court’s verdict, panel chairman Justice Kamaludin Said described Jegan as “the luckiest man” for getting his freedom back.
He was charged with trafficking three pistols and a revolver in front of a house in Jalan Bukit Mewah in Kajang on Dec 18, 2015.
Salim said new law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said should consider reviewing the propriety of the natural life imprisonment term as she mulls the abolishment of the death penalty.
He said offenders under the Firearms Act (Increased Penalty) should be limited to a maximum of 30 years in jail instead of being incarcerated for their natural life.
Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali said the liberty of the accused will be taken away if the person is held in custody until he dies.
Taking into account a High Court judgment that since the life expectancy of Malaysian men was 70 and a jail term beyond that age would be undesirable, Jegan, 36, would have been unproductive for 34 years had his High Court conviction been maintained.
“Perhaps, Parliament could give the court the discretion to impose either the death penalty or a jail term of up to 30 years as smuggling of firearms is quite a serious offence,” he added.
Rafique said such offenders were also entitled to a pardon from the head of state after serving a portion of their jail sentence.
Better have for MUSLIM ONLY Shariah LAW TO CHOP HANDS...SINCE THEY SO DESIRE.....OTHER RACE AND RELIGION WILL BE PROTECTED BECAUSE THIS IS A SPECIAL DEMI AGAMA BANGSA DAN NEGARA & A DESIRE BY HADI AND PAS-PN....AT THE SAME TIMA ALSO IMPLEMENT FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND SEE HOW MANY KATAK WILL LOMPAT FROM THE racist SUPREMACIST RELIGION!!
ReplyDeleteI told you these bleeding hearts will push and push for super soft law enforcement.
ReplyDeleteFirst they push to take away the death penalty, with the excuse life imprisonment is good enough penalty for even the most extreme brutal and barbaric crimes.
THEN they will push to remove true life imprisonment as "inhumane".
Eventually, an unrepentant Rapist and Murderer who committed the crime at age 20, could be out free to enjoy the rest of his life before age 40 - plenty of years of life left, compared to the innocent life he so cruelly cut short , without regrets.
PISS OFF !