PETALING JAYA: A lawyer has urged prison authorities to work with state Bar committees to ensure that those who are appealing to a higher court while already serving time in jail are able to obtain legal representation.
KA Ramu said prison officials could communicate with the committees who would find lawyers registered under the National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) to appear for appellants, especially those seeking to maintain or reduce their punishments.
“Those in prison will likely pass the means test to qualify for free legal aid, especially when the case is before the final court of appeal,” he told FMT.
He was responding to a decision by the appellate court on Tuesday to restore the 24-year jail term and whipping handed down to a labourer who was convicted of two counts of raping his stepdaughter.
The Kota Bharu Sessions Court had sentenced the 50-year-old man to 12 years’ jail and 10 strokes of the rotan on each of the two charges and ordered that the sentences run consecutively.
However, upon appeal, the Kota Bharu High Court ordered the man to serve 15 years’ jail and suffer 10 strokes of the cane on each count, but with the sentences to run concurrently.
The government then filed an appeal against the sentence. The man came to the Court of Appeal without a lawyer.
Ramu, who is also the Selangor Bar YBGK and legal aid sub-committee co-chairman, said most prisoners were denied legal representation in the Court of Appeal as their families usually abandoned them once they were behind bars.
“Prison officials can alert the state Bar committees of the plight of those still relying on the final Court of Appeal to reduce the sentence or when they have to respond to the government’s appeal,” he said.
Meanwhile, lawyer A Srimurugan called on the Malaysian Bar to amend the Legal Profession Act to make it compulsory for lawyers to take up at least one criminal case each year on a pro bono basis.
“We have 18,000 lawyers and the number is growing. Mitigating for a lighter sentence is relatively a simple task,” he said.
Srimurugan said currently, only chambering students are required to undertake 14 days of legal aid work before they are admitted to the Bar.
The lawyer said the Bar should also consider a recent proposal by Chief Justice Richard Malanjum that lawyers in the peninsula represent 20 cases per year involving poor and needy individuals to allow them access to justice.
The top judge said this had been the practice in Sabah and Sarawak for several years now and had benefitted many, especially those ignorant of the law.
Meanwhile, lawyer Chan Hen Hui said the chief judge of Malaya should ensure the appointment of experienced magistrates to administer criminal courts, as they would better understand the plight of the poor and needy.
“They strictly follow the cold print of the Penal Code instead of the spirit of the law,” she said.
Chan was referring to the case of a mother of three who was sentenced to a day’s jail and fined RM1,000 or two month’s imprisonment after she admitted to stealing food items valued at RM145.37 at a supermarket on Jan 18.
The offence carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.
Chan said the magistrate could have given Eng Siu Khim, who was also unrepresented, a binding over for good behaviour as she was a first-time offender.
“The court should have taken into account that Eng was under remand for three days before she was produced in court on Jan 22,” she added.
Chan said it appeared from Eng’s pleadings that her family members were not informed of her detention immediately after her arrest.
She also claimed that some magistrates in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor sought only a speedy disposal of cases as they had become so overloaded with work. -FMT
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