Courts must consider all factors on jail term for MCO offenders - M'sian Bar

The Malaysian Bar has urged the courts to give due consideration to all mitigating factors that gave rise to a breach of the movement control order (MCO).

Malaysian Bar president Salim Bashir (photo) said the call was made following reported accounts of "excessive sentences and cases of disparity in sentencing" between ordinary people and those with influence.

"We acknowledge that the range of sentences handed down may well be within the ambit of the law, but the power of the court to hand down sentences must be exercised judiciously in order to avoid any travesty of justice.

"The Malaysian Bar urges the court to temper justice with compassion, especially when we are not dealing with instances of violent crime," Salim said in a statement.

The Malaysian Bar statement did not make reference to any judgement but it was reported earlier today that a single mother has gone to the High Court to revise her 30-day jail term for violating the MCO two weeks ago.

B Lisa Christina, who has a six-year-old son, reportedly pled guilty to the charge and the magistrate imposed the custodial sentence on April 21.

It was also reported today that Deputy Health Minister Noor Azmi Ghazali and Perak executive council member Razman Zakaria were fined RM1,000 each by the Gerik Magistrate's Court over the same offence of MCO breach.

Under Section 7(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease (Measures Within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020, a person violating the MCO can be fined up to RM1,000 or imprisoned up to six months or both.

Salim further cited Section 25 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 which gives the Director-General of Health the discretion to offer compounds for any offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act.

"We urge the Health DG to exercise this discretion conferred by law," said Salim who argued against a jail sentence for offenders.

"While violating the MCO should not be taken lightly, sending violators to jail is a cure that is worse than the disease.

"Putting people in jail may send a deterrent message to the public, but it adds to the problem of COVID-19 transmissions in courts and prisons," Salim said.

On April 17, online portal FMT reported that Attorney-General Idris Harun had withdrawn the discretion given to the health director-general to compound MCO offenders, saying instead that state prosecution directors could be referred to for permission to issue compounds, on a case-by-case basis.

The government has since gazetted 11 special prisons for MCO offenders and Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Saturday said 58 people who have been sentenced by the courts for violating the MCO have been sent to the temporary prisons so far.

The temporary prisons, which are converted premises of academies under the Prisons Department, began operations on April 23. The government initially announced 13 such temporary prisons but later revised the number to 11.

Previously, the courts had jailed MCO violators but the Prisons Department complained this was adding to already overcrowded prisons and could create new Covid-19 outbreaks as social distancing was difficult in these facilities.

The government subsequently shifted towards issuing RM1,000 fines but this led to an uptick in the number of MCO violators. - Mkini