The lottery of Malaysian justice

A couple of years ago I was shocked by the severity of the sentence handed down to a man convicted of stealing 11 cans of beer worth a total of RM70 – see my post 5 years jail for RM70 theft where I wrote:

That’s an over-the-top heavy handed judgement by the Yang Ariff. It’s monstrously out of proportion to the seriousness of the crime, more so when you consider heavier shit being committed by 'heavy metal' ar$eh#les in this country, none of whom has thus far been found guilty.

As the Star Online reported in its news article Jobless man gets 5yrs for stealing some beer, the offender was Zulhaidi Hamzah, an unemployed man.

I wonder whether the severity of his sentence had to do with him being a Muslim and the items he stole were alcoholic drinks?

Contrast his sentence with someone who ‘stole’ hundreds of millions and live in a f* palace built from dirty money.

And for 'divine' sentences, what about those who would unbelievably use dirty money (or accept dodgy all expenses paid trip) to fly to Mecca on a Haj. Won't the sins be tripled?

The second case reported by the Star Online was Shorter jail time for duo Court. Extracts are as follows:

The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of two brothers involved in the arson at the Metro Tabernacle church in Desa Melawati two years ago.

The court, however, unanimously held that the five-year jail term handed down by a Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court against Raja Muhammad Faizal Raja Ibrahim, 26, and Raja Muhammad Idzham, 24, was “excessive”. It reduced the sentence to a two-year jail term.

Now consider this learned judgement: Justice Low said while public interest called for a deterrent sentence in criminal cases, the court also considered the fact that the two were first-time offenders and of a relatively young age at the time of the offence.

“We were also informed that as regards the damage to the church, the Government has allocated RM500,000 to restore the church to its original state. We are of the view that custodial sentence is necessary but the five-year jail term is excessive,” said the judge.

I support the judge for his reasonable and less severe sentences for first time offencers, especially those of a younger age (due to their immaturity), though I'm not too sure about how the government's financial allocation to help restore the church could lessen the severity of the crime.

But read this one, also in the Star Online - Vietnamese punished for chopping down gaharu – a first in Penang

A 23-year-old Vietnamese was sentenced to six years' jail and fined RM200,000 in default six months' jail for felling gaharu (agarwood) trees at the Forest Reserve in Nibong Tebal last month a first in Penang.

I would consider the crime by the Vietnamese to be less serious that the previous case, of arson associated with religious (or political) hatred against a place of worship. But WTF, poor Viet received a sentence 3 times more severe than the arsonists. And if he doesn't cough up the RM200,000 fine (which we can safely predict he won't be able to) his sentence will run for an extra 6 months.

Then there was UMNO Minister of Culture, Youth & Sports, Datuk Mokhtar Hashim, who was convicted of murder of another UMNO bloke (sometime in 1983?), sentenced to death, had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment, and then pardoned and set free. All nicely manmanlai.

He, like other UMNO ministers who went to prison, masuk-keluar lokap with their Datukship intact. Just imagine morning roll call, like: Prisoner Datuk 12155 Kaytee Mok wakakaka.

It would seem that justice in Malaysia is just like Empat Ekor. You lose most of the time, but if you have the 'gods' with you, then you win – see my post at KTemoc Kongsamkok titled Dream No 2 – the God spoke, very precisely! wakakaka.