Ex-administrator gets 584 years in jail, 146 strokes for embezzling students' funds
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Mohd Hanafi Ismail looks at the camera as he is led from the Melaka Sessions Court NSTP/Rasul Azli Samad |
KUALA LUMPUR: A former administrator for Tabung Amanah Pendidikan Negeri Melaka (Tapem) has been sentenced to 584 years in jail and 146 strokes of rotan after he pleaded guilty to 146 counts of embezzlement charges involving over RM2.4 million school students’ scholarship funds.
Melaka Sessions Court judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin meted out the sentence against Mohd Hanafi Ismail, 31, after all the charges and facts were read out to him, which took about two hours, Harian Metro reported.
The accused was sentenced to four years in jail and one stroke from the conviction date for every charge and all the sentences will run concurrently. This means, he will only serve a total of four years in prison and a maximum of 24 strokes of the cane.
Based on the charges, the accused, who was then the administrator and in charge of the scholarship funds for asnaf students in the state, had embezzled the money.
The offence was committed in stages between Jan 23, 2017 and Dec 21 last year, involving RM2.404 million. The offence took place at Tapem’s Financial Unit at Bangunan Kota Cemerlang in Ayer Keroh.
When I glanced at the NST's headlines I saw '... gets 584 years in jail, 146 strokes' I thought to myself: Oops, someone has abused a daughter or stepdaughter or underage child to deserve such a frightful sentence.
To my shock I soon realised it was just a CBT case (CBT = Criminal Breach of Trust). But WTF, 4 years jail and one stroke for every charge make the punishment for 146 charges a total of 584 years and 146 strokes of the rotan. Horrendous, not even a despicable rapist or serial killer gets that sort of punishment.
Of course I eventually read that the Melaka Sessions Court judge ruled the sentences are to run concurrently which means all 146 sentences of 4 years run at the same time, making it only 4 years in actuality.
And the 146 strokes of caning to be limited to a maximum of 24 strokes.
The 4 years seem OK and NST has been very naughty sensationalising that as 584 years, which I have to admit caught my eyes.
But does a CBT case, no doubt of RM2.4 million, deserve 24 strokes? I personally feel such a brutal punishment shouldn't be practised in modern times, no, not even one single stroke, especially when no violence was committed.
Besides, caning, whipping, flogging punishments are ultra Victorian, medieval and barbaric.
I hope the bloke appeals against the very unusual severe caning.
Let's get something clear..."just a CBT" is a form of robbery.
ReplyDeleteThe convicted accused stole RM 2.4 Million of scholarship money meant for school children, and it was from a non-profit foundation.
This is a particularly heinous crime, and deserves severe penalty, as long as within the law.
This is not "just" a CBT case of someone stealing a commercial firm's funds. To be frank, those commercial funds are often fully insured against such crimes, and with some profitable companies,RM 2.4 Million is just a minor speed bump.
Your soft liberal opposition to punishments against serious crimes is too much.
Opposition to the Death Penalty I can understand. I support the Death Penalty in the most serious capital crimes, but I can understand the concerns of the opponents.
Caning for very serious crimes also cannot...rape, armed robbery , child molesting, assault causing severe injury, stealing from elderly women or children (like in this case)...Kerbau-lah.
A nobody gets such a punishment for much less. While a husband/wife team scrubbed billions still having ampu-ing kakis shouting for their innocence!
DeleteEither the country is f*cked or the people r on the way down!
I am wondering some just kept quiet instead of clamouring for the hand to be chopped off depending on the offending party? Wakakaka .........
ReplyDelete