Corpun file 8093 at www.corpun.com

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 4 April 2000

Teen jailed for life gets extra caning

MUAR: A teenager who was sentenced by a Sessions Court last week to life imprisonment and six strokes of the rotan for having a ganja plant received another two years' jail and three more strokes yesterday -- this time from a magistrate's court -- for possessing 37gm of ganja.

Mohd Naziff Ahmad, 18, from Jalan Temenggong Ahmad, who was charged under Section 6, read together with Section 39A(1)(f) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, pleaded guilty before magistrate Abdul Ghafar Abdul Latif.

Mohd Naziff was arrested on Nov 10 last year with 16 packets of ganja weighing a total of 37gm.

Prosecuting officer Chief Insp R. Balakrishnan told the court Mohd Naziff was charged on March 30 with having a ganja plant and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Sessions Court.

The magistrate ordered the two-year sentence to run concurrently with the life imprisonment which Mohd Naziff received from the higher court four days ago.

On March 30, Mohd Naziff pleaded guilty when he was charged under Section 6D(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 in the sessions court with having the ganja plant.

Corpun file 5516 at www.corpun.com

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 12 April 2000

More states set to adopt new Syariah laws

By Sim Leoi Leoi

KUALA LUMPUR: The new Syariah laws in Johor, which provide for caning and jail for seven offences such as incest and pre-marital sex, will be extended to more states.

Minister in Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paduka Dr Abdul Hamid Othman said Selangor, Kedah and the Federal Territory were among those eager to implement the laws.

"The Federal Constitution was amended about 10 years ago to allow for the expansion in the powers of state Syariah Courts to allow caning and imprisonment instead of just imposing a fine on offenders.

"It is up to the states to come up with their own enactments but I have been told that Selangor, Federal Territory and Kedah will soon implement the same laws," he said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

Dr Abdul Hamid was commenting on the Johor Religious Department's move to impose caning and jail on offences such as pimping, lesbianism, prostitution, sodomy and the teaching or organising of events contrary to Syariah laws.

In an immediate reaction, PAS president Datuk Fadzil Noor had said the laws were not in accordance with the Quran and that he remained unimpressed by them.

Dr Abdul Hamid countered that, unlike the PAS governments in Terengganu and Kelantan, the Government did not "shout out" when it came to implementing Syariah laws.

"We are more practical. The laws are according to the Quran," he said.

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