Responsible govt should be able to see oppressive side of Sosma

 

From Hafiz Hassan

It is mind-boggling that home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail should defend the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) as it “allows the court process to take place”.

He said this was in contrast to the now-defunct Internal Security Act (ISA), which allowed for detention without trial, and the emergency ordinances (EO) which allowed for detention of up to 60 days.

Saifuddin said that at the end of the 28-day detention under section 4(5) of Sosma, there will only be two recommendations for detainees, “which is either to charge them in court or to free them”.

Sosma allows for detention of a person for 28 days for the purpose of investigation. Such a detention is generally referred to as detention pending investigation.

In other jurisdictions like the UK, it is called pre-charge detention.

It is the period that a person can be detained by the police between being arrested and being either charged with a criminal offence or released.

Pre-charge detentions serve the primary purpose of securing sufficient admissible evidence during investigation for use in criminal proceedings.

What is objectionable is that Sosma, unlike the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), does not provide for a judicial authority, like a magistrate, to be satisfied that the 28-day detention is necessary for the purpose of investigation.

This follows the arrest and detention of a person for a period of 24 hours for the purpose of investigation.

Section 4(5) Sosma only requires “a police officer of or above the rank of Superintendent of Police (to) extend the period of detention for a period of not more than twenty-eight days, for the purpose of investigation”.

This is one area where reform to Sosma is necessary.

Under a similar legislation in the UK, the Terrorism Act 2000, a judicial authority must be satisfied that an extended detention is necessary to:

• obtain or preserve relevant evidence;
• permit the completion of an examination or analysis of any relevant matter with a view to obtaining evidence; and
• ensure the investigation connected with the detention is conducted diligently and expeditiously.

A responsible government should be able to see that a 28-day detention without judicial oversight is oppressive. - FMT

Hafiz Hassan is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.