Malaysia: Really time to drop mandatory death penalty

Earlier this week, our attention was drawn to the image of a mother embracing her 3 children tightly as her face portray the ordeal she had gone through. Rosna Shariff was finally reunited with her children after 4 long and trying years due to the efforts of Putera 1Malaysia and Berita Harian who sponsored her flight home.

Rosna who was tricked by a man into becoming a drug mule was arrested in Santa Monica, Lima in 2007 with 5kg of cocaine. She was sentenced to 2 years and eight months in jail. After being released in October last year, she found herself stranded in Peru and could not afford her way home.

Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM) congratulates Putera 1Malaysia for their continued assistance in bringing home victims of similar cases as Rosna. Their work in providing help to Malaysians who have stumbled in their lives is crucial but Rosna is hardly an isolated case.

In February 2011, police statistics revealed that between 2007 to 2010, 239 Malaysians who had been lured into being drug mules were being detained in prisons of several countries. 120 of them were men and the remaining were women.

Throughout 2011, media continues to publish stories of Malaysians suspected to be drug mules being caught and detained overseas. The International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) stated that there is a current trend which targets Southeast Asia and East Asia in drug mule recruitment drives.

Those detained came from wide ranging background including students, professionals, graduate, uneducated, young and matured. As human beings, we have been moved by the plight of some of our fellow countrymen.

Nur Dhiya Ain Rosman, Christina Anak Luke Niju, Yong Vui Kong are amongst the few whose stories we remember. We also were informed of P Jayakumar, a 37 year old disabled man with a history of mental condition. He was deceived into collecting a table lamp in Brazil and was later nabbed on suspicion of being a drug mule in Buenos Aires. Through cooperation with Interpol, Jayakumar was located and returned to his family.

Despite having death penalty for drug crimes in Malaysia, there are Malaysians and government linked NGOs who are willing to provide assistance to Malaysians who have been found guilty for drug related offences overseas.

While it is extremely positive to see various public interest bodies coming together in ensuring the welfare of Malaysians especially those who have been taken advantage of, perhaps it is also time for us to check our reflection.

According to Amnesty International's report, Death Sentences and Executions in 2010, the number of countries that are abolitionist in law or practice has substantially increased from 108 in 2001 to 139 in 2010.

The Global Overview on the Death Penalty for Drug Offences 2010, conducted by International Harm Reduction Association, found that there remain 32 states which provide for the death penalty for drug related offences. Out of these 32, 13 have the mandatory death penalty. Malaysia is one of them.

It is important to understand the gravity of what 'mandatory death penalty' means. Mandatory means 'compulsory' or 'obligatory' and when a judge has decides on the guilt of the accused, he has only 1 punishment to give – death.

Mandatory death penalty removes the discretion of judges to consider external factors such as accused's level of maturity and intelligence, life's background, circumstances leading to the commission of the offence and other mitigating factors.

In relation to the cases mentioned above, it would mean that although these individuals may have been tricked into carrying drugs and are but mere pawns in a far more elaborate syndicate, they will be facing the noose.

Further concerns which arise out of the imposition of the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia are the way in which our drug laws are framed. The Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, states in Section 36, that “It shall not be necessary in any proceedings against any person for an offence against this Act to negative by evidence any licence, authorisation, authority, or other matter of exception or defence, and the burden of proving any such matter shall be on the person seeking to avail himself thereof”.

Section 37 outlines legal presumptions which amongst others assume that accused who was proven to be in possession of drugs at a certain weight is guilty of trafficking. The accused have to prove his innocence.

While the efforts of the likes of Putera 1Malaysia, rescuing Malaysians who are overseas in need of help, are much commended, we still need to address and assist the many more Malaysians and individuals who have to face the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia even when they experienced similar circumstances with their fellow citizens. They could not escape the gallows because our laws refuse to allow judges discretion and continue to impose mandatory death penalty.

Amnesty International Malaysia calls upon Malaysian government to adopt a moratorium on all executions and for all laws carrying the mandatory death penalty to be repealed. We welcome the recent efforts by parliamentarians who had chosen to work together despite being in different political parties to pass a resolution in Parliament to seek abolition of mandatory death penalty.

Many Malaysians have spoken out against death penalty and AIM received supports in our campaign towards its abolition. As a developed nation we have no further need of this discriminatory, inhumane and degrading punishment. Although there are many who would argue for its existence, as a civilised nation, we have to respect, adhere and uphold human rights which value human's life.

We also ask that in the light of Singapore's presidential elections today, all Malaysians will join civil society in solidarity and continue to call for the death sentences of Yong Vui Kong and Cheong Chun Yin to be commuted. Since justice has turned a blind eye, let mercy not show us its cold shoulder too.

Source: Nora Murat is executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia (AIM); Malaysia Kini, August 28, 2011

Malaysia: Appeal court upholds death sentence for drug peddling

August 24, 2011: Datuk Wira Low Bop Bing, Datuk Clement Allan Skinner and Justice Sangau Gunting of the Malaysian Court of Appeal affirmed the death sentence of Chung Ngee Hong, 39, for trafficking 85.37g of ecstasy pills on April 25, 2003.

The High Court sentenced him to death on February 15, 2008.

Source: Borneo Post, August 25, 2011

Malaysia: Three sentenced to death for drug trafficking

ALOR SETAR, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- The High Court here today sentenced two foreigners, an Indonesian and a Thai, to death after they were found guilty of trafficking in 222,028g of cannabis three years ago.

Justice Datuk Zakiah Kassim handed down the sentence on Effendi, 25, and Sakri Yadam, 24, after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in establishing the case beyond reasonable doubts.

Effendi, from Indonesia, and Sakri, a Thai national, were charged with committing the offence at 4.4 nautical miles off Kuala Kedah about 12.30am on Jan 17, 2008.

In her judgment, Zakiah said the defence by both the accused were merely fictitious and a denial.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Wan Nor Hasnita Wan Daud prosecuted, while lawyer Ranjit Singh Dhillon represented Effendi and Sakri.

Also in the same court, judge Datuk Mohd Azman Hussin sentenced electrician M.Vijay Kumar to death after finding him guilty of trafficking in 211.62g of heroin and 12.20g of monoacetylmorphines two years ago.

Vijay Kumar was charged with trafficking the drugs in front of the Park Avenue Hotel, Taman Sejati Indah, Sungai Petani, at 9.05pm on Aug 26, 2009.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Norhayati Ibrahim prosecuted, while Vijay Kumar was represented by lawyer RSN Rayer.

Source: Mysinchew.com, August 21, 2011

Comments

Tennessee | Questions Raised About the Doctor Who Was Overseeing Tony Caruthers’ Execution

Mark Fowler, according to a deposition, had not placed a central line in a patient for more than a decade when he attempted to put one in Carruthers Around 11 a.m. Thursday morning in the execution chamber at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, a medical doctor stepped in and attempted to place a central IV line in Tony Carruthers’ chest. By that point, the prison staff had spent some 30 minutes trying unsuccessfully to insert a backup IV line that would allow them to proceed with the lethal injection. According to Carruthers’ attorney Maria DeLiberato, who was in the room, after asking a staff member to attempt inserting a line through Carruthers’ jugular vein, the doctor moved on to the central line, which is identified as the last resort in Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol .

EU GSP+ Reform: Will Brussels Finally Enforce Its Own Conditions on Pakistan?

The EU has tightened the rules governing GSP+ trade preferences, but Pakistan’s record raises a harder question: whether Brussels is prepared to suspend market access when a major beneficiary fails to demonstrate sustained compliance with human rights, labour and governance obligations. The European Union has formally adopted revised rules for its Generalised Scheme of Preferences, strengthening the conditions attached to preferential market access for developing countries. The new framework will apply from 1 January 2027 and is intended to tighten monitoring, widen the list of international conventions, and make suspension of benefits easier in cases of serious violations.

Florida executes Richard Knight

Man convicted of killing a woman and her 4-year-old daughter is executed in Florida A Florida man convicted of fatally stabbing his cousin’s girlfriend and the couple’s 4-year-old daughter was put to death Thursday evening, becoming the 7th person executed by the state this year. Richard Knight, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a 3-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Knight was convicted of 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in the June 2002 killings of Odessia Stephens and her daughter, Hanessia Mullings. The curtain of the death chamber went up promptly at the scheduled 6:00 p.m. execution time. Knight was already strapped down with his arms extended and an IV line in place.

Iran executes Esma Zarei in Ardabil Prison after she gave birth in custody

Hengaw – Saturday, May 23, 2026. Iranian authorities have executed Esma Zarei, a 28-year-old Turkish woman from Parsabad in Ardabil Province, who had previously been sentenced to death on charges of “premeditated murder” in connection with the killing of her husband. She is the sixth woman executed in Iran since the beginning of 2026. According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Zarei was executed at dawn on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Ardabil Central Prison. She had been sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) after being convicted of her husband’s murder.

Tennessee fails to execute Tony Carruthers after IV difficulties. State won't try again for a year

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee officials on Thursday called off the lethal injection of Tony Carruthers, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering three people in 1994, after his executioners tried and failed for over an hour to establish an intravenous line. Gov. Bill Lee announced soon afterward that the state would not try again for at least a year. In a written statement, the Tennessee Department of Corrections said medical personnel had quickly established a primary IV line but were unable to find a suitable vein for a backup line as required by the state’s execution protocol. Efforts to insert a central line also failed, and officials called off the execution.

Arizona executes Leroy McGill

Arizona executes inmate who set couple on fire in 'horrific attack' Arizona has executed Leroy McGill for setting 21-year-old Charles Perez and his 24-year-old girlfriend on fire. Perez died the next day and Perez survived with severe burn injuries. Arizona has executed a death row inmate for setting 2 people on fire more than 20 years ago, killing 1 of them and changing the other's life forever. The state executed Leroy McGill, 63, by lethal injection on Wednesday, May 20, for the 2002 murder of 21-year-old Charles Perez. McGill set Perez and his girlfriend on fire after they accused him of theft, court records say. Perez died of his injuries the next day while his girlfriend survived with severe burns.

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

Florida: The Daily Routine of Death Row Inmates

The breakfast carts rattle through the concrete prison at about 5:30 am and as they approach Death Row the first sounds of morning repeat the last sounds of night - remote controlled locks clanging open and clunking closed, electric gates whirring, heavy metal doors crashing shut, voices wailing, klaxons blaring. A maximum security prison has no soft or delicate sounds. At the end of each corridor of death row cells a guard opens a heavy door of steel bars and a prison trusty pushes a breakfast cart inside. The door closes behind him and when it locks a second door opens and admits the trusty to the wing. He steers his cart along the wing stopping at each cell to pass a tray of powdered eggs and lukewarm grits through a small slot on the bars. Food is prepared by prison staff and transported in insulated carts to the cells. The food carts are full of cockroaches, the food is often undercooked or just rotten and is served on Styrofoam plates with a plastic "spork" - fork/spoon...

Iraq: German schoolgirl, 17, turned jihadi bride escapes death penalty and is jailed for six years

GERMAN Jihadi bride Linda Wenzel has been jailed for six years in Baghdad for her role as an Islamic enforcer with terror group ISIS. Wenzel, 17, who last year sobbed on TV “I have ruined my life,” could have faced the death penalty. German media reported that a German embassy representative in Iraq was in court yesterday to witness her sentencing. She received five years for joining IS and one year for entering Iraq illegally. Wenzel was found in the rubble of IS stronghold Mosul back in the summer of 2017. Charges were laid against her and three other German women captured with her. Schoolgirl Wenzel fled to Turkey then into Syria last year from her hometown of Pulsnitz in eastern Germany after being groomed online by a Chechen IS fighter who she married. He was killed in the savage fighting for Mosul while she was employed by the terror group enforcing the strict Islamic dress code on women in the city. She burst into tears after her capture and said s...

Florida | Jury recommends death for Otto Lenke, judge to make final call

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A St. Lucie County jury recommended the death penalty for Otto Lenke on Thursday in the penalty phase of his first-degree murder trial, though the final decision rests with the judge. Lenke, 66, a former Melbourne police officer and Indian River County firefighter , was convicted earlier this month of first-degree murder and first-degree arson in the Feb. 17, 2021, killing of Richard Benson at Fast Frank’s Custom Cycle Components, Benson’s motorcycle repair shop in Fort Pierce . Prosecutors said Lenke shot Benson multiple times inside the shop, then poured a flammable liquid on him and set him on fire while he was still alive. Surveillance video from the shop captured the attack.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog