Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) welcomes the House of Representatives’ passing of the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 in the Malaysian Parliament on 3 April.
This restores sentencing discretion to the judiciary, which now will have the option of imposing either the death penalty or a sentence of “imprisonment for a term of not less than thirty years but not exceeding forty years and if not sentenced to death, shall also be punished with whipping of not less than twelve strokes”.
The Bill also will amend “imprisonment for natural life” with the words “imprisonment for a term of not less than thirty years but not exceeding forty years”. This ends imprisonment until one dies.
One must remember that the purpose of sentencing criminals is to ensure the just punishment of the perpetrator, and rehabilitation for the social reintegration of the offenders. Imprisonment for natural life makes it impossible to fulfil the obligation of rehabilitation and reintegration.
Life imprisonment was also considered a “secret death penalty”, by Pope Francis, as stated in his 2020 encyclical “Fratelli Tutti (All Brothers), on Fraternity and Social Friendship”.
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Madpet also welcomes the passing of the Revision Of Sentence Of Death And Imprisonment For Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction Of The Federal Court) Bill 2023, [which will allow] the Federal Court to review a sentence of death and imprisonment for natural life imposed on a convicted person following the abolition of the mandatory death penalty.
This will mean that about 840 of the 1,320 on death row, who have completed all appeals, will have their death sentence reviewed by the Federal Court. Likewise for those who are currently serving imprisonment for the rest of their natural lives.
For, the others on death row or sentenced to life imprisonment, the appellate courts can now deal with it as the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 states that they “shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of the principal Act as amended by this Act even though the offence was committed before the date of coming into operation of this Act“. This will abolish the mandatory death penalty and natural life imprisonment sentences in the future.
Family members of murder victims
We saw some media reports that stated that a few family members of murder victims oppose the abolition of the mandatory death penalty.
It must be pointed out that many other victims do support the abolition of the death penalty. The international group Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights is one such example that seeks the abolition of the death penalty.
One family member allegedly said, “If the mandatory death penalty is abolished, criminals will no longer be scared.”
It must be pointed out that even with the mandatory death penalty, the number of murders and drug trafficking continued to be high, if not rising – proof that the death penalty failed to act as a deterrent.
Compensation for victims
The government is considering this but it must be pointed out that it is already provided for in the Criminal Procedure Code.
Section 426 states”
…the Court before which an accused is convicted of an offence shall, upon the application of the Public Prosecutor, make an order against the convicted accused for the payment by him, or where the convicted accused is a child, by his parent or guardian, of a sum to be fixed by the Court as compensation to a person who is the victim of the offence committed by the convicted accused in respect of the injury to his person or character, or loss of his income or property, as a result of the offence committed… (1B) Where the person who is the victim of the offence is deceased, the order of compensation shall be made to a representative of the deceased person..’.
Unfortunately, a perusal of reported cases shows that the public prosecutor seldom applies for compensation for victims, including murder victims’ families. In some cases, they just apply for prosecution cost.
Section 426 also states that “the order for payment shall not prejudice any right to a civil remedy for the recovery of any property or for the recovery of damages beyond the amount of compensation paid under the order”.
This means that victims of murder or other crimes can still commence a civil court action to claim damages.
Altantuya Shaariibuu’s family did just that, and the court found not just convicted murderers Sirul Azhar and Azilah Hadri but also political analyst Razak Baginda liable to their claim of unlawful killing of the deceased (Altantuya). The government was vicariously liable as Sirul and Azilah were police officers. They were ordered to pay cost and “RM5m in general, aggravated and exemplary damages to the deceased’s family“.
Madpet urges the Senate to also speedily pass the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 and the Revision Of Sentence Of Death And Imprisonment For Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction Of The Federal Court) Bill 2023, so that it can be put in force as soon as possible.
Madpet calls on the public prosecutor to diligently apply for compensation from the convicted in criminal trials for victims of crime, including family members of murder victims.
Madpet reiterates the call for the total abolition of the death penalty and of corporal punishment of whipping.
Charles Hector issued this statement on behalf of Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture
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