January 20
MALAYSIA:
Abolishing death sentence not made in haste: Coalition Against the Death
Penalty
The Malaysian Coalition Against the Death Penalty today refuted former
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor’s statement that the
government’s decision to abolish the death penalty had been made in haste.
In a statement here today, the coalition said the issue had been brought up as
early as 2010 when the then Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk
Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz publicly stated that the death penalty was not suitable
for Malaysia.
It said since then, studies were carried out to review the efficacy of laws
relating to the death sentence, including one commissioned by the government
and undertaken by the International Centre for Law and Legal Studies in
Malaysia that in 2016 recommended to the Cabinet the total abolition of the
death penalty.
“For the former IGP to say that no proper study had been undertaken or that the
present Cabinet’s decision to totally abolish the death penalty for all crimes
is premature has certainly failed to take into account the existing facts in
relation to the question of the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia,” it
said.
On Wednesday the former IGP expressed his objection to the government’s
proposal to abolish the death penalty and had urged the government to review
it.
Rahim also suggested that a referendum be held at the Dewan Rakyat to decide on
the matter.
The coalition also lauded the government for showing leadership in deciding to
abolish the death penalty.
The statement said that there was also no credible empirical evidence to show
that the abolition of the death penalty in a particular jurisdiction had led or
would lead to an increase in the crime rate in that jurisdiction.
“The ineffectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent was initially
recognised in the amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 effected in 2017
which removed the mandatory death penalty for drug-related offences. The then
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of law said that this was
a ‘baby step’ towards the eventual total abolition of the death penalty.
“As the former IGP will himself be personally familiar, the existence of even
harsh punishment does not deter a person from commiting a crime, be it for an
offence of causing hurt or for murder,” the statement said.
The coalition also stressed that abolition of the death penalty as a form of
punishment did not mean that the perpetrators of crimes would be set free, and
that they would still be punished for the crimes they had committed.
(source: thesundaily.my)
INDONESIA:
2 Indonesians who escaped Malaysian death penalty return to families
The Foreign Affairs Ministry has returned Siti Nurhidayah and Mattari, 2
Indonesians, who escaped death penalty in Malaysia, to their families.
The ministry`s Director for Indonesian Citizens Protection Lalu Muhammad Iqbal
noted in a statement that both Indonesians were returned to their families on
Thursday.
"We have provided counseling and advocacy for them," Iqbal stated here on
Friday, Jan 18.
Siti Nurhidayah, a woman from Brebes District of Central Java, was arrested on
November 6, 2013, for carrying methamphetamine when she transited in Penang,
Malaysia, on her flight from Guangzhou, China.
An investigation by the Indonesian Citizen Protection Team found that
Nurhidayah was a victim of fraud. During the court sessions, Nurhidayah`s
lawyer presented key witnesses, who testified that she had been defrauded.
Nurhidayah was released from all charges on November 15, 2018.
Mattari, a Madurese man, was arrested on December 14, 2016, in a construction
project where he worked in Selangor, Malaysia, for allegedly killing a
Bangladeshi.
A lawyer provided by the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Gooi & Azzura,
have convinced judges in the court that they did not have adequate evidence nor
witnesses in the case.
On November 2, 2018, Mattari was released from all charges, but the permit from
the Malaysian Immigration Office to deport him was only received on Jan 8.
"During the legal process, the Indonesian Embassy has provided counseling for
both of them, including to facilitate communication with their respective
families," an official of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur Galuh
Indriyati stated.
Since 2011, some 442 Indonesians have been charged with death penalty in
Malaysia, of which 308 were acquitted, while the remaining 134 are still
awaiting further legal process.
(source: antaranews.com)
TAIWAN:
KMT to propose death for child abuse
The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) legislative caucus yesterday unveiled
proposals for amendments to the Criminal Code, including that murderers of
children should be given the death penalty.
In the wake of several high-profile child abuse and murder cases, lawmakers
across party lines have proposed amendments to increase punishments for child
abuse under the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act and
the Criminal Code.
KMT legislators Alicia Wang Lai Shyh-bao and Hsu Chih-jung each tendered a
draft amendment to the code stipulating life sentences or the death penalty for
people guilty of murdering minors younger than 12.
Another proposal by Wang calls for people who treat minors younger than 16 in a
way that could hamper their mental or physical development, leading to their
death, to be sentenced to death.
Wang and several other KMT lawmakers proposed amendments to the act that would
require daycare centers to have surveillance cameras and set fines for centers
that fail to check carers’ credentials before hiring them, as well as
paramedics and social workers who fail to report potential child abuse.
Speaking at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan, KMT caucus
secretary-general William Tseng called on social workers to seek out and visit
high-risk families where child abuse is more likely to occur — such as
financially disadvantaged families or those with adolescent parents who might
lack childcare knowledge — and conduct routine follow-ups to ensure that
children in such families are safe.
The caucus asks the Executive Yuan to create an ad hoc project — an
intergovernmental effort by the Ministry of Education, the National Police
Agency and the Ministry of Health and Welfare — to improve child protection, he
said.
As of yesterday, lawmakers had submitted 16 draft amendments to the code and 29
to the act, he said.
To speed up the review process, Tseng recommended sending the drafts from a
preliminary review to cross-caucus negotiations and then to a second review.
The nation’s social safety net is lacking 549 social workers, who are
responsible for conducting family interviews, Wang said, calling on Premier Su
Tseng-chang to quickly fill the posts.
The death penalty must be an option when meting out punishments for child
abusers, she said, adding that it was a way to pursue justice.
Taiwan Children’s Rights Association director-general Wang Wei-chun agreed with
Alicia Wang’s remarks, saying that violence against a child that cannot fight
back is a form of murder.
Police should be given the authority to intervene in child abuse cases, as
social workers do not have the power to do so, which can hamper the prevention
of abuse cases, she said.
(source: Taipei Times)
INDIA:
Father gets death for poisoning, killing 2 kids in Karnataka
Kundapur Additional Sessions Court on Saturday awarded the death penalty to a
man who was found guilty of killing his 2 children by poisoning them at
Ganganadu near Byndoor in 2016.
The court sentenced Shankaranarayana Hebbar (47) to death. The court delivered
the judgment in the case after the chargesheet was submitted before it
recently. Initially, the villagers suspected it to be a case of suicide pact.
However, on the 3rd day of the crime, the police registered cases of murder and
attempt to murder against Shankaranarayana.
Shankaranayarana, who earned his living by selling milk, consumed poison after
forcing his wife Mahalakshmi and children to do the same on October 16 night.
While the 2 children — of Class 10 and Class 8 — died the next morning,
Shankaranarayana and his wife were in the ICU of Kasturba Hosptial in Manipal.
Police then recovered a 21-page note written by Shankaranarayana in which he
admitted to have given poison to the other 3.
The note read that Shankaranayarana was in a relationship with a maid and was
dejected after she married someone else. When he expressed his intention to
die, his wife and children too said they did not want to live without him, the
note read. Seventeen witnesses testified before the court. The court said that
his wife can obtain compensation from legal services authority.
(source: newindianexpress.com)
EGYPT:
20 defendants sentenced to life in Giza Terrorist Cell case
A total of 20 defendants were sentenced to life in prison, and a minor was
given 10 years over terror-related charges in the case known as the “Giza
Terrorist Cell,” according to a ruling issued Saturday by the Cassation Court.
During the hearing considering the defendants’ appeal to their initial
sentences, the judge upheld the life sentence punishment (25 years in prison)
to 14 defendants, and replaced the capital punishment to 6 others with life
over same charges.
The Giza cell is reportedly one of the most dangerous terrorist cells formed
recently. The Court of Cassation upheld in April placing the cell suspects on
the list of terrorist entities.
In October, a Giza criminal court upheld death sentences against 11 convicts of
the Giza cell over charges of attempted murder and inciting violence. Other 14
convicts were sentenced to 25 years in prison in absentia, while another
defendant was handed down a sentence of 10 years in prison.
According to the prosecution’s investigations, the defendants faced charges of
violating personal freedom, providing terrorist groups with material and
financial aid, vandalizing public properties, attempting to kill an officer in
the General Directorate of the Giza Security Forces, vandalizing a police car,
stealing weapons and manufacturing explosive devices in 2015.
(source: Egypt Today)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
Death penalty sought for man who killed 5 in UAE massage parlour
Public prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for a worker, who is accused
of stabbing 5 people to death at a massage parlour in Abu Dhabi. The judge at
the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance, however, said that a verdict
will be pronounced only after the victims' families inform the court if they
are willing to pardon the defendant in exchange for blood money.
The Bangladeshi man is on trial for murdering a man for having paid sex with
his Indonesian girlfriend and 4 others who worked with her at the massage
parlour in the Musaffah industrial area last year.
8 other Bangladeshi men, who knew about the murder but wanted to cover up for
their friend, were also charged in the case.
Court documents stated that the Bangladeshi entered the massage parlour and
found the Asian victim seated there. As his girlfriend entered another room
with the 4 other women, the man asked the victim whether he was having paid sex
with his lover. When he said yes, the defendant stabbed him with a knife
several times until he died.
After that, the defendant went on to attack the 4 other women as they had let
his girlfriend have sex with other men in his absence.
The case came to light after a worker reported to the police about a foul smell
from a room in his neighborhood. When the police went to the parlour, they
found the 5 bodies.
During the course of the investigation, the police arrested the defendant, his
girlfriend and the 8 Bangladeshis.
The defendant had admitted to the murder during his interrogation, but denied
the charges in court.
(source: Khaleej Times)
NIGERIA:
North West Governors Consider Death Penalty For Kidnappers
Northwestern states may prescribe stiffer penalties to curtail increasing cases
of kidnapping and other crimes in the next political dispensation, Governor
Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State, has hinted. Specifically, the governor
vowed to spearhead moves to expunge outdated law on kidnapping and review the 5
pounds fine or few months’ imprisonment for kidnapping under the existing law
if his administration is given a 2nd term mandate in the forthcoming elections.
Masari, who expressed displeasure at the archaic law during the All
Progressives Congress (APC) campaign rally in Batsari, was confident that the
law would be reviewed and replicated in the northwestern states to contain the
crime wave in the zone.
The governor, who had equally hinted that the governors in the Northwest
geopolitical zone would meet in Kaduna this week over the spate of kidnapping
and other crimes, confirmed that no fewer than 6 informants conspiring with
kidnap suspects were apprehended by security operatives last Friday in the
state. He assured that the APC administration would not rest on its oars in
fighting all forms of criminality and appealed to the public to provide useful
information to law enforcement agencies on persons aiding and abetting
kidnappings in the state.
(source: leadership.ng)
UNITED KINGDOM:
U.K. court rejects case from key Daesh militant’s mother
The mother of one of the British Daesh (ISIS) militants suspected of murdering
western hostages, lost a legal challenge Friday that it was wrong for Britain
to assist a U.S. investigation which could lead to them facing the death
penalty. Britons Al-Shafee al-Sheikh and Alexanda Kotey - 2 of a notorious
group of British fighters nicknamed “The Beatles” - are being held by Kurdish
militia after being captured in Syria last year.
The United States wants to extradite them and Britain has said it will not
stand in the way of any future U.S. prosecution that would seek the death
penalty, waiving a long-standing objection to executions.
Sheikh’s mother, Maha al-Gizouli, had sought a judicial review, saying it was
unlawful for Britain’s interior minister to provide mutual legal assistance in
a case which could lead to prosecutions for offences which carried the death
penalty.
Her lawyers said the minister’s actions were flawed, inconsistent with
Britain’s unequivocal opposition to the death penalty and violated her son’s
human rights. However, London’s High Court disagreed and dismissed her claim.
“My priority has always been to ensure we deliver justice for the victims’
families and that the individuals suspected of these sickening crimes face
prosecution as quickly as possible,” Home Secretary Sajid Javid said.
“Our long-standing opposition to the death penalty has not changed. Any
evidence shared with the U.S. in this case must be for the express purpose of
progressing a federal prosecution.”
The most notorious of the four of the so-called Beatles was Mohammad Emwazi,
known as “Jihadi John,” who is believed to have been killed in a U.S.-British
strike in 2015.
He became a public face of Daesh and appeared in videos showing the murders of
U.S. journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, U.S. aid worker Abdel-Rahman
Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, Japanese journalist
Kenji Goto and other hostages.
“This group of terrorists is associated with some of the most barbaric crimes
committed during the conflict in Syria,” Graeme Biggar, Director of National
Security at Britain’s Interior Ministry, said in a written statement to the
court.
Britain has said it does not want the men repatriated to the United Kingdom and
their British citizenship has been withdrawn.
(source: The Daiy Star)
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