PETALING JAYA: An opposition MP has urged home minister Hamzah Zainudin to explain the fate of a large number of individuals detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), who have yet to be prosecuted due to a lack of evidence.
Akmal Nasir (PH-Johor Bahru) said only 648 people were charged out of the 3,717 detained under Sosma.
“According to the home minister’s statistics, a total of 3,717 (people) have been detained under Sosma with 126 charged under the Penal Code and 522 charged under smuggling offences.
“Taking these numbers into account, about 80% of the individuals have yet to be charged. What happened to those who were not charged?” he asked in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Akmal was debating Hamzah’s motion to extend the enforcement of sub-section 4(5) of Sosma for another five years beginning from July 31.
He said there are many other laws that can be used to prosecute individuals other than Sosma, which critics have described as draconian.
“If there is a case involving (national) security, many other laws can be applied. But many Sosma detainees have been held without trial after the government failed to prosecute them.”
Sub-section 4(5) of Sosma provides power to the police to detain, without trial, a person suspected of being involved in terrorist activities for a period not exceeding 28 days for investigations. - FMT
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