PETALING JAYA: Wisma Putra has been urged to help three Malaysians who are currently serving a life sentence in a Bangladesh prison for smuggling gold into the country.
The three men, Azwan Salihin, Johari Harun and Hee Wool Khong, were arrested by Bangladeshi authorities in October 2015.
The Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) urged Putrajaya to appeal the sentence imposed on them, saying it was too harsh.
MHO secretary-general Hishamuddin Hashim also said there were several Chinese nationals who committed a similar offence but were only punished with seven years in jail.
“There were also Bangladeshis who committed the same offence but were only punished with a 12-year jail sentence. So the question is why were life sentences given to (the three Malaysians).
“We do not question or dispute Bangladesh’s legal system, but we ask for the punishment to be reviewed,” he said.
Recently, Azwan’s mother, Siti Fatimah Hanafi, had sought MHO’s help for her son to be given a lighter sentence over his offence. She said Azwan was only 21 at the time and did not know that the item he was carrying into the country was gold.
The 69-year-old also said Azwan had been languishing in prison for the past seven years, adding that it broke her heart to imagine that her son would eventually die behind bars.
Hishamuddin urged the government to step in and seek justice for the three Malaysians, so that their sentences would be reviewed and reduced. - FMT
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