The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 13 January 1998

Jobless man jailed for having cannabis

KUALA LUMPUR: An unemployed man was jailed eight years and ordered to be given 10 strokes of the rotan by the Sessions Court yesterday for possessing 347.3gm of cannabis.

Mohammed Jailani Mohd Yassin, 30, pleaded guilty to committing the offence at his house in Lorong Raja Muda, Hospital Quarters, at 4.10am on March 22 last year.

In mitigation, defence counsel S. Arunan said Mohammed Jailani was a first offender and had repented.

He said that Mohammed Jailani committed the offence because of stress and pressure to support his family.

DPP Noor Ruwena Nurdin said the court had to consider public interest in passing sentence, adding that everyday there were reports by the media on drug related arrests and confiscation.

Judge Lim Yee Lan said although Mohammed Jailani had pleaded guilty and had saved the government expenses, she also considered the amount of cannabis involved and the implications on society.

Lim acquitted and discharged Mohammed Jailani's wife, Zalina Hashim of the same charge as the prosecution offered no evidence against her.

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 21 January 1998

Officer jailed for cheating the needy

SEREMBAN: A welfare officer was jailed a total of six years and ordered to be given three strokes of the rotan by the Sessions Court yesterday for criminal breach of trust involving financial aid for the elderly, children and the poor.

Sessions judge Supiah Meon found Wan Hashim Wan Abdullah, 35, guilty on three charges involving a total of RM1,200 committed between June 21, 1995 and Sept 21, 1995.

Wan Hashim, a welfare officer for 12 years, was jailed two years and give a stroke of rotan for each charge.

The charges involved RM200 for the poor, RM700 for the elderly and RM300 for children.

Earlier, prosecuting officer Ramle Muhamood asked for a deterrent sentence as Wan Hashim had used his position and "betrayed those who were in need of financial help."

He added that the accused had also smeared the good name of the Welfare Department with his offence.

Sharif Mohd and R. Sivanesan, representing Wan Hashim, had asked for a lighter sentence as he was a first offender.

Supiah ordered the jail sentences to run concurrently but allowed a stay of execution on the sentence pending an appeal.

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 24 January 1998

Judge: It may be cheaper to whip convicts than jail them

By V. Chandrasekaran

KANGAR: A High Court judge suggested yesterday that it may be cheaper for convicts to be whipped more times than to serve long jail sentences in view of the economic downturn and overcrowding in prisons.

Judge Vincent Ng said it would be cheaper to employ cane wielders than build more penal centres to maintain prison idlers.

He said this when increasing the number of rotan strokes from 24 to 30 imposed by a lower court on a lorry driver convicted of three rape charges.

The judge, however, reduced by nine years the 48-year jail sentence imposed on Sulaiman Bidin following his appeal against a Sessions Court decision on April 25 last year.

The judge said that the whippings were increased from eight to 10 strokes for each charge to reflect the court's abhorrence for the offences.

"But to save valuable public funds on the long-term maintenance of a prisoner, which has been said to cost taxpayers as much as RM30 per day, your sentence of 16 years for each charge is now reduced to 13 years each," he said.

Ng said the reduced sentence, however, did not detract from the gravity of the offences.

"So while you languish in prison, you should not for a moment entertain even a flicker of thought that you deserve a day less than the 16 years imposed earlier," he said.

He said the court had to consider the victims' young ages although persuasion and enticement rather than force and violence were used.

Sulaiman, married and a father of two, had pleaded guilty to raping three Year Six pupils several times between February and May in 1996 at different places, including his house, in Kuala Perlis.

He had paid the victims between RM6 and RM10 each time for having sex with them.

The judge ordered the sentence to run concurrently from the date of arrest. Deputy Public Prosecutor Abdul Razak Musa prosecuted.

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 25 January 1998

Bar Council opposes whipping in lieu of jail

PETALING JAYA: The Bar Council opposes any policy which increases whipping in lieu of long jail terms.

Its chairman Dr Cyrus V. Das said the courts must impose appropriate sentences on a case-to-case basis.

He said it might be legitimate to increase sentences of the usual form if there was an increase in criminal misappropriation cases as a result of the economic downturn.

"But the economic downturn should not, by itself, be used to lead into any change in sentencing policy," said Dr Das.

"Whipping . . . is degrading and is only reserved for heinous crimes," he said yesterday when commenting on a suggestion by Kangar High Court judge Justice Vincent Ng that it would be cheaper to employ cane wielders than build prisons to house convicts.

Justice Ng made the suggestion On Friday when he increased the number of rotan strokes from 24 to 30 imposed by a lower court on a lorry driver convicted of rape.