Oct. 18
INDONESIA:
MUI Pans Supreme Court Judges Over Lightened Drug Verdict
The Indonesian Council of Ulema, the country's highest authority on Islamic
affairs, called on Thursday for the Supreme Court to take actions against 3
judges who commuted a death sentence for a drug trafficker to 15 years in jail,
a report said.
Indonesia's Supreme Court drew criticism after it changed its verdict for
convicted drug lord Hengky Gunawan, revoking a previous death sentence and
sentencing him to 15 years in prison instead.
The trio of judges only recently made their opinion public, saying that the
death sentence in Hengky's case was antithetical to the Constitution, which
enshrines a right to life.
They also contended that the purpose of sentencing was to educate and
rehabilitate and should not be solely punitive in nature.
"I think the [decision to change the verdict] was not just because it violates
the 1945 Constitution that arranges matters of human rights. Human rights have
limits according to the constitution," Ma'aruf Amin, the executive chairman and
coordinator of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) said, according to private
broadcaster SCTV.
He added that the MUI was calling on the Supreme Court to examine the 3 judges
on the panel: Imron Anwari, Achmad Yamanie and Nyak Pha.
If it turns out that there was a violation, "firm and heavy" sanctions should
be meted out on the judges, Ma'aruf stated.
"For the moment, the 3 should be suspended from handling cases," he said.
The MUI believes that the Judicial Commission should also be involved in the
examination of the judges.
"The Judicial Commission's task is to supervise judges and deal with their
actions that violate professional ethics," Ma'aruf declared, according to SCTV.
He said that the MUI viewed the appeal verdict as "strange" and going against
the government's drive to battle drug trafficking and use.
The MUI, he added, viewed drugs as posing as serious a threat to the nation as
corruption or terrorism.
"The 3 are extraordinary crimes and should be dealt with seriously through the
imposition of extraordinary punishments or the death penalty," Ma'aruf said.
The supreme court ruling has already been lambasted by the National Anti-drug
Agency, the police, the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection and many
more groups and activists.
Hengky was arrested in Surabaya on May 23, 2007, for running a major ecstasy
production and distribution operation.
The Surabaya District Court initially handed down a 15-year prison sentence for
him, but on appeal, the Surabaya High Court issued a harsher 18-year term. The
Supreme Court escalated the punishment further, ruling that the defendant
should be put to death for his crimes.
But Hengky's last-gasp appeal got the last ruling revoked in April, with the 3
Supreme Court judges settling instead on the initial sentence of the Surabaya
District Court.
(source: Jakarta Globe)
PAKISTAN:
'Lack of death penalties encouraging crime'
During the press briefing on Wednesday at which the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi city
chief's arrest was revealed, Additional IG Shabbir Sheikh pointed out that as
the prisoners held for heinous crimes were no longer awarded the death penalty
under the government's policy, terrorists were taking advantage of the
situation.
"The conviction rate has declined since 2007."
He maintained that if the death sentence was restored, the crime rate would
decline. "Activists of banned outfits are operating without any fear and
targeting citizens."
The police official noted that the lack of a witness protection programme was
also a reason behind the low conviction rate.
"We have no witness protection programme. We have written letters to the
provincial government, but the issue is under consideration." Sheikh also
disclosed that there were 30 or 35 associates of LJ Karachi chief Hafiz Qasim
Rasheed still on the loose in the city, but gave the assurance that they would
be arrested soon.
He confirmed that there were threats about terrorist attacks in the city. He
added that there were also intelligence reports about the presence of bombers
in the metropolis.
"We received a letter from Islamabad asking us to adopt strict security
measures to avert a terrorist attack."
(source: The Express Tribune)
SINGAPORE:
34 death-row cases may come under review
They were facing certain death from the hangman's noose, but may now be given a
lifeline after proposed changes to the mandatory death penalty were introduced
in Parliament on Monday.
If the new law is passed, the cases against 34 prisoners on death row here can
be reviewed, even if they have exhausted all avenues of appeal.
Under proposed changes in the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill and the Penal
Code (Amendment) Bill 2012, these prisoners will be given an opportunity to
introduce new evidence to prove that they satisfy the conditions for a life
sentence instead.
In Singapore, a life sentence lasts for a prisoner's natural life, but he can
apply for a review of his sentence after he has served 20 years in jail.
Among the 34 on death row, 28 were convicted of drug trafficking, and 6 of
murder.
A stay of execution was put in place after the review of the mandatory death
penalty started in July last year.
There were originally 35 death row prisoners, but one of them, Pathip Selvan
Sugumaran, escaped the gallows after the Court of Appeal, in August, set aside
his conviction of murdering his girlfriend 4 years ago.
The 26-year-old was found guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide not
amounting to murder.
Since the proposed changes were announced in Parliament by Home Affairs
Minister Teo Chee Hean and Law Minister K. Shanmugam in July, briefing sessions
have been held in Changi Prison for death row prisoners.
All 34 can be considered for resentencing under transitional provisions that
will be enacted.
Under those provisions, those convicted of murder will be given a chance to
show that their cases fall under Sections 300b, c, or d of the Penal Code,
which will no longer attract a mandatory death penalty.
Those convicted of drug trafficking will also get a chance to prove that they
were only low-level couriers, and also to cooperate with the Central Narcotics
Bureau if they have not done so in the past.
The proposed changes to the mandatory death penalty laws will give judges the
discretion to impose a life sentence when these conditions are met.
Most of the 34 will be represented by the same lawyers who defended them
earlier.
Some prisoners, though, have not yet found lawyers to represent them and
appeals have been sent out to the legal community for help.
**********************
Death-row drug trafficker fails in retrial bid
The Court of Appeal on Monday threw out a bid by a convicted Malaysian drug
trafficker - who faces the death penalty - for a retrial.
Lawyer M. Ravi, acting for Cheong Chun Yin, 29, argued that the trial judge's
2-page written reasons for his decision were insufficient.
Mr Ravi also argued that the matter be adjourned until proposed amendments to
the law, giving judges the discretion not to impose the death penalty in
drug-trafficking cases, are passed.
Among other things, the proposals allow offenders who are simply couriers and
who have cooperated substantively with the Central Narcotics Bureau to escape
the gallows.
But the 3-judge Court of Appeal said the written judgment may be short but that
did not mean it was inadequate.
Justice Chao Hick Tin, giving the court's decision, said it had examined the
evidence and did not think there was any miscarriage of justice to warrant a
retrial.
The court also made it clear its decision is based on the current law as the
proposed amendments have not been passed.
Justice Chao said the court should not pre-judge what had to be done when the
changes are enacted.
Chief Prosecutor Aedit Abdullah had told the court that should these amendments
be enacted, Cheong's case can be considered under the amended law. The
prosecution will also work with defence lawyers representing convicts affected
by the changes, he said.
In June 2008, Cheong arrived in Singapore from Myanmar with a black trolley
bag. He handed it to 55-year-old Malaysian Pang Siew Fum at Changi Airport.
They parted ways but were arrested separately later that day. The bag was found
to contain not less than 2,726g of heroin.
They were found guilty of drug trafficking after a joint trial in the High
Court and given the death sentence - mandatory for anyone convicted of
trafficking more than 15g of the drug.
The duo appealed against the conviction and sentence but this was dismissed by
the Court of Appeal. 3 months ago, in July, Cheong filed a motion seeking to
reopen his case.
Mr Ravi cited the case of heroin trafficker Thong Ah Fat, who was given another
trial after the Court of Appeal ruled that the trial judge in that case did not
provide clear enough reasons for his decision.
He also argued that the Central Narcotics Bureau had not made efforts to trace
the mastermind. He added that this would be important in the light of the
proposed amendments.
The Chief Prosecutor argued that the Court of Appeal should not reopen the case
as Cheong has exhausted all legal avenues and has not raised any new evidence
or arguments.
(source for both: Asia One)
MAYALSIA:
2 friends get the death sentence for trafficking
2 male friends were charged at the Magistrate's Court here today with
trafficking in 2.068 kilogrammes of methaphetamine at a hotel room here on Oct
6.
Chong Kok Meng, 41, and Tan Thiam Hock, 48, both unemployed, are accused of
having committed the offence at a room in Park Royal Hotel in Jalan Sultan
Ismail here at 8pm.
They were charged under Section 39(B)(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, read
with Section 34 of the Penal Code. The penalty under Section 39(B)(2) of the
Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 is the mandatory death sentence.
No plea was recorded from the accused when the charge was read before
Magistrate Amal Razim Alias.
Amal Razim set Dec 18 for mention. Deputy public prosecutor S.Malini Anne
prosecuted while the duo were unrepresented.
(source: New Straits Times)
********************
Malaysian judge rejects Somali pirates' guilty plea, recuses himself
The judge presiding over the trial of 7 suspected Somali pirates accused of
hijacking a tanker and firing shots at the Malaysian armed forces on Thursday
rejected their guilty plea in Malaysia and recused himself over discrepancies
in court documents.
The suspects were captured on Jan. 20 last year in the Gulf of Aden by the
Malaysian navy while trying to hijack Singapore-bound Malaysian tanker, MT
Bunga Laurel loaded with 10 million U.S. dollars worth of lubricating oil and
chemical products.
Lawyer representing one of the suspects, Edmund Bon told the hearing on
Thursday that the suspects had pleaded guilty to the initial instead of a
sanctioned charge that carries a lighter sentence.
All 7 suspects were previously offered a chance to escape execution by hanging
if they admit to an alternative charge of firing shots at the Malaysian navy to
prevent lawful detention and not having an intention to kill as they were
accused of originally.
With the alternative charge under the firearms act, they can be jailed up to 14
years upon conviction.
"And from all the investigations and court documents given to us the latitude
and longitude were based on somewhere in India on land as opposed to in the
high seas. So we are saying this has to be amended before they can plead guilty
for conviction to sustain, "Edmund Bon told Xinhua.
The case is fixed for management at a later date.
Malaysia was the 1st country last year to try the suspected Somali pirates
under the death penalty statute as more countries in the world find ways to
prosecute pirates to contain maritime piracy off the lawless Gulf of Aden.
3 of the suspects were 15 years old during the arrest.
Prosecutors have said the suspected pirates can be tried in Malaysia because
the offense was committed against its citizens.
(source: New Zealand Week)
ZIMBABWE:
Death penalty: families suffer; The brother of the late murderer and jail
breaker, Edgar Masendeke, has condemned the death penalty as evil and a
punishment of surviving family members.
Masendeke was executed in 2004 after committing various crimes including murder
and escaping from Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
In an interview his brother Erick (42) said "Following our brother's execution,
society has a bad perception about our family. They think we are all murderers
and we are given all sorts of names.
"The moment I mention my surname people always associate me with Edgar - even
though he died 8 years ago," he said. "I think life imprisonment is the best.
We are not at peace because of the way our brother died. Each time we are faced
with a misfortune we just think it is his spirit and we are forced to perform
rituals often," he added.
He said that the Masendeke family has been paying for a crime they did not
commit as some families demanded to be compensated for the death of their
relatives who are believed to have been murdered by Edgar.
"There are some families whose relatives were murdered by Edgar, they demanded
that we compensate them for their loss," he said.
Section 4.5 in the new draft constitution, allows for the imposition of the
death penalty on a person convicted of murder "committed in aggravating
circumstances," but exempts from the application of the death penalty all
women, men under 21 years at the time of the commission of the crime, and those
over 70 years of age.
Rights groups are pushing for the total removal of the death penalty. The
Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender is
in the process of garnering more than a million signatures for a petition
against the death sentence.
(source: Tarisai Jangara, The Zimbabwean)
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