From Malaysiakini:
Adelina, Rozita, Jong-nam - what on earth is going on?
by MARTIN VENGADESAN
 |
Adelina Lisao sleeping OUTSIDE house with a rottweiler |
When we saw pictures of abused domestic worker Adelina Lisao last year, the heart bled. Bruised, battered and bleeding, her final indignity was to be made to sleep outside with the dog of the family she had come to work for. By the time someone finally intervened to save her, it was too late.
It called to mind the case of Nirmala Bonat, another poor young Indonesian domestic worker who had been badly abused by her employers between January and April, 2004.
Thankfully, Nirmala was saved before she died. Her employer Yim Pek Ha was jailed 12 years, and she and her husband Hii Ik Ting were ordered to pay RM129,147.20 in damages for abusing and injuring the domestic worker.
Now that doesn’t make things right, but at least there was a feeling that the courts had acted strongly to send a message that the cruelty and abuse would not go unpunished.
In another case, Soh Chew Tong and his wife Chin Chui Ling were jailed 10 years for committing culpable homicide, after their Cambodian domestic worker Mey Sichan was found dead at the couple’s shophouse in April 2012.
Mey had fresh injuries on her body and was severely dehydrated with symptoms indicating starvation. She weighed only 26kg at the time of her death. Once again, despite the tragedy, our courts made it clear that abuse would not go unpunished.
So I won’t lie. I was in disbelief when I read reports that the woman charged with Adelina’s death, one MAS Ambika (below), was going to be given a discharge. What could that possibly mean?
It called to mind the case of Nirmala Bonat, another poor young Indonesian domestic worker who had been badly abused by her employers between January and April, 2004.
Thankfully, Nirmala was saved before she died. Her employer Yim Pek Ha was jailed 12 years, and she and her husband Hii Ik Ting were ordered to pay RM129,147.20 in damages for abusing and injuring the domestic worker.
Now that doesn’t make things right, but at least there was a feeling that the courts had acted strongly to send a message that the cruelty and abuse would not go unpunished.
In another case, Soh Chew Tong and his wife Chin Chui Ling were jailed 10 years for committing culpable homicide, after their Cambodian domestic worker Mey Sichan was found dead at the couple’s shophouse in April 2012.
Mey had fresh injuries on her body and was severely dehydrated with symptoms indicating starvation. She weighed only 26kg at the time of her death. Once again, despite the tragedy, our courts made it clear that abuse would not go unpunished.
So I won’t lie. I was in disbelief when I read reports that the woman charged with Adelina’s death, one MAS Ambika (below), was going to be given a discharge. What could that possibly mean?
 |
Ambika , employer of Adelina Lisao |
Justice seen to be done
Stunned, I asked my lawyer friend Samantha Chong, a former deputy public Prosecutor, why the case could have collapsed and a seemingly culpable person be let loose.
She said that while originally going for murder charges the prosecution must have felt that was not a strong enough case for that charge.
“If the cause of death is malnutrition, a prosecutor might have a stronger case for culpable homicide than murder,” she told me.
“There is a distinction between intention and knowledge. Between murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and causing death by negligence.”
“Only the prosecutor will know best what was the exact reason they decided to drop the case. They might have other undisclosed facts which are privy only to the prosecutor and defence.
"However, in this case, a precious life was lost and it is only right for the public to demand an explanation. Not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done.”
So is there some sort of loophole here meaning that no one will be held accountable for the cruel treatment dished out to Adelina that led to her death?
Stunned, I asked my lawyer friend Samantha Chong, a former deputy public Prosecutor, why the case could have collapsed and a seemingly culpable person be let loose.
She said that while originally going for murder charges the prosecution must have felt that was not a strong enough case for that charge.
“If the cause of death is malnutrition, a prosecutor might have a stronger case for culpable homicide than murder,” she told me.
“There is a distinction between intention and knowledge. Between murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and causing death by negligence.”
“Only the prosecutor will know best what was the exact reason they decided to drop the case. They might have other undisclosed facts which are privy only to the prosecutor and defence.
"However, in this case, a precious life was lost and it is only right for the public to demand an explanation. Not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done.”
So is there some sort of loophole here meaning that no one will be held accountable for the cruel treatment dished out to Adelina that led to her death?
 |
Steven Sim |
Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim (above) said yesterday that Attorney-General Tommy Thomas will “personally investigate this matter to look into the next course of action.”
This called to mind the confusion surrounding the case of Rozita Mohamad Ali, who made headlines after she pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt to her domestic worker.
The Sessions Court initially just sentenced Rozita to be bound over for five years on a good behaviour bond of RM20,000.
Then the prosecution appealed and she was slapped with a more appropriate eight-year jail sentence by the High Court. The follow-up was that she was awarded a stay of that jail term and freed on bail of RM25,000 with two sureties pending disposal of her appeal.
Bear in mind she pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt to 19-year-old Indonesian domestic worker Suyanti Sutrinso using a knife, a mop, a clothes hanger, an iron bar, a cat's toy and an umbrella at a house in Petaling Jaya between 7am and noon on June 21, 2016.
Does Rozita wandering free sound like justice to anybody?
Consistency in the law
I have to admit I am at a loss. Often we search for consistency and order in the justice system but it’s lacking.
Another recent example was the case of Kim Jong-nam (below), the elder brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The poor man was murdered in broad daylight at KLIA2 on Feb 13, 2017.
This called to mind the confusion surrounding the case of Rozita Mohamad Ali, who made headlines after she pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt to her domestic worker.
The Sessions Court initially just sentenced Rozita to be bound over for five years on a good behaviour bond of RM20,000.
Then the prosecution appealed and she was slapped with a more appropriate eight-year jail sentence by the High Court. The follow-up was that she was awarded a stay of that jail term and freed on bail of RM25,000 with two sureties pending disposal of her appeal.
Bear in mind she pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt to 19-year-old Indonesian domestic worker Suyanti Sutrinso using a knife, a mop, a clothes hanger, an iron bar, a cat's toy and an umbrella at a house in Petaling Jaya between 7am and noon on June 21, 2016.
Does Rozita wandering free sound like justice to anybody?
Consistency in the law
I have to admit I am at a loss. Often we search for consistency and order in the justice system but it’s lacking.
Another recent example was the case of Kim Jong-nam (below), the elder brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The poor man was murdered in broad daylight at KLIA2 on Feb 13, 2017.
 |
late Kim Jong-nam |
Seven North Korean agents including Ri Ji Hyon, Hong Song Hac, O Jong Gil, and Ri Jae Nam, were believed to have been part of the plot. They fled Malaysia on the day he died, leaving behind the two women who actually rubbed the VX nerve agent poison into the victim’s face.
Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong were left to face the music and murder charges.
In the weeks after the murder, we were bullied by North Korea who at one point even appeared to hold our embassy staff hostage.
After a trial that seemed to go nowhere, Siti AIsyah was released following a political appeal, and Huong had a reduced charged which will see her released and return to her country in two weeks’ time.
Any way you look at it, it seems as if the political will to pursue justice in Jong-nam's tragic death is virtually non-existent.
So as the nation sees an ex-premier in the dock over the 1MDB scandal, numerous unanswered questions over Wang Kelian, Kevin Morais, Raymond Koh, Amri Che Mat, Teoh Beng Hock and many others… who among us feels confident that the truth will emerge and justice will prevail?
Perhaps our folly was in thinking that a poor, defenceless girl like Adelina was going to get the justice in death that she was denied in life.
Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong were left to face the music and murder charges.
In the weeks after the murder, we were bullied by North Korea who at one point even appeared to hold our embassy staff hostage.
After a trial that seemed to go nowhere, Siti AIsyah was released following a political appeal, and Huong had a reduced charged which will see her released and return to her country in two weeks’ time.
Any way you look at it, it seems as if the political will to pursue justice in Jong-nam's tragic death is virtually non-existent.
So as the nation sees an ex-premier in the dock over the 1MDB scandal, numerous unanswered questions over Wang Kelian, Kevin Morais, Raymond Koh, Amri Che Mat, Teoh Beng Hock and many others… who among us feels confident that the truth will emerge and justice will prevail?
Perhaps our folly was in thinking that a poor, defenceless girl like Adelina was going to get the justice in death that she was denied in life.
Everyone can see Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong were pawns in the North Korean covert operation.
ReplyDeleteIf they were sentenced to hang, justice would not have been served.
Still I believe they still need to serve time in jail.
Someone who committed the actual act of killing, even though they claimed no knowledge or intention, cannot walk away scot free or with just a tap on the wrist.
There is virtually no legal way to get to the North Korean agents who planned and carried out the execution, which is what it is, short of an air-strike on Pyongyang, which even Trump would not dream of.
I am well aware that there are from time to time, cases where the evidence, or lack of ,and circumstances make it untenable to obtain a conviction in the courts, and defendants are discharged.
I would let the AG investigate and explain the facts, and not jump to conclusion in condemnation.
If someone is a pawn, then it would mean that he/she was being made use of by others for their own purposes. He or she could be duped into doing something that he/she had no intention of doing. So even if it results in the death of another person, and he/she had committed that act, and if proven that he/she is also a victim in that act, then there shouldn't be any punishment or jail time imposed. This is justice in the fullest sense of the word.
DeleteGranted there are some very serious issues Tommy has to give attention to, but kesian him lah he is busy celebrating Easter weekend...for sure he will be right on the job next week. And mind you he is prosecuting Jibby on the SRC case and he personally attends court everyday, on Monday morning itself...
ReplyDeleteBut specifically on the Kim Jong Nam case Tommy deserves full credit because two lives were saved, both the Vietnamese and Indonesian ladies were facing mandatory death sentences.
It was clearly the missing North Korean agents that were responsible for the murder.
Although both women were facing exactly the same charges there was insufficient evidence against Siti so she was let off free. With the Vietnamese woman however, well shall we say she knew a little more than Siti, but Tommy decided to reduce the charge to manslaughter with a minimal sentence. But in the end both women were spared the hangman’s noose. So Malaysians who oppose the death penalty should be celebrating and be thankful for our criminal system shows both justice and mercy. We should instead pursue North Korea to punish the agents responsible.
Tommy caved in to Mahathir's favouring Indon - what a shame
DeleteSo you prefer Siti face the charges in court and run the risk, however small the risk may be, of facing the mandatory death sentence?
DeleteAh Mok knows the Law better than Tommy Thomas.
DeleteWhat a DedakIsed KPI chased.
Something is very wrong with the Australian justice system when a man gets six years prison sentence for murdering his wife.....
ReplyDeleteQUOTE
Borce Ristevski sentenced to nine years in jail for killing wife Karen in unexplained manslaughter
By Emma Younger
Borce Ristevski has been sentenced to nine years in jail for killing his wife Karen at the couple's home in Melbourne's north-west before dumping her body in bushland and denying any involvement in her disappearance until the eve of his trial.
Ristevski was originally charged with murder but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter
With time already served, he will be eligible for parole in less than five years.
The sentence has been criticised by Karen Ristevski's family and domestic violence groups.
The 55-year-old has never explained how he killed his wife on the morning of June 29, 2016, despite pleading guilty to manslaughter last month.
After killing his wife at their Avondale Heights home, Ristevski put her body in the boot of his car and drove to Mount Macedon, where he hid it in a nature reserve under logs, branches and foliage.
By the time the 47-year-old's remains were found in February 2017, the cause of her death could not be determined.
Justice Christopher Beale ordered Ristevski to serve a minimum term of six years.
Taking into account the 491 days he has already served, Ristevski will be eligible for parole in less than five years.
'We didn't get justice today'
Outside court, Ms Ristevski's brother Stephen Williams expressed disappointment at the sentence.
"Nothing was going to bring Karen back, but today was about justice, and we didn't get justice today at all," he said.
"As a society at some stage we will … in regards to domestic violence make a stand … it wasn't today."
The sentence was slammed by domestic violence organisations, with the CEO of No to Violence, Jacqui Watt, saying: "family violence cannot end until the men who use family violence change the actions they take in harming women and their beliefs, attitudes, behaviour and choices.
"The question we must ask is this: does this sentence reflect community attitudes now that the community is more aware of the prevalence and serious nature of family violence? The answer is clearly no."
UNQUOTE