Judges to get discretionary powers over death sentence, says Apandi
The Attorney-General’s Chambers is ready to present to Parliament
the draft bill to amend the Dangerous Drug (Bill) 2017 prescribing
mandatory capital punishment for drug traffickers.
Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali said the amendment would allow
the judges to exercise discretion in meting out the mandatory death
sentence.
He said the proposed amendments were drafted based on his experience as a judge.
"The amendments are from me and are based on my experience as a High Court and Appeals Court judge.
"Many judges find it difficult to pass the death sentence on offenders whom they feel do not deserve the punishment.
"But they have no choice because it is mandatory. Therefore, I
propose that the government be more flexible and do not discriminate
against the offenders, "he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Azalina Othman had
revealed during a question-and-answer session in Parliament that the AGC
was in discussions with various government agencies to amend the act
for mandatory capital punishment.
Azalina revealed this when replying to a question from Puchong MP
Gobind Singh Deo, who had wanted to know whether the government was
abolishing the death sentence and would postpone all executions during
the moratorium.
Apandi said the draft amendments also included guidelines for the
judge to identify which offender should or should not be granted the
privilege of the judge’s discretionary powers over the death sentence
"In putting forward the idea (of letting the judge decide), we have
also identified the offenders who deserve the death sentence and those
who do not.
"People reading news reports about drug arrests assume that all who are caught are sentenced to death.
"But it is only those who are distributing and making a profit from drugs who will get the death sentence," he said.
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