Deal with root causes of incest and sentencing process holistically
Tuesday, 30 April 2002 12:00am
The Bar Council notes that there are presently several proposals being considered by the Legal Co-ordination Committee chaired by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Dato’ Seri Dr Rais Yatim, on 29 April 2002 to deal with the problem of incest and related questions.
The Bar Council is wholly against the proposal to have offenders caned in public in keeping with accepted human rights conventions and reiterates the views expressed in its press statement of 23 April 2002.
However, the Bar Council supports any proposal to increase the age limit of male offenders liable to caning to beyond 50 years of age, subject to medical evidence that an offender is in a fit state of health to undergo such punishment. The rationale in support of this proposal is that if an offender is not too old to commit incest, then he should not be deemed too old to suffer the pain for his wrongdoing.
While the Bar Council is mindful of the sentiments expressed by the public and the commitment of the Government to deal with those found guilty of incest severely, the Bar Council calls on the Government to deal with the root causes of incest and the sentencing process holistically and to avoid piecemeal legislation as an immediate response to the problem. Offenders, besides being punished for their wrongdoing must be counselled and rehabilitated.
The Bar Council is also wholly against the imposition of a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment on an offender. The law should provide for a maximum sentence but the sentencing discretion should always be left to the court.
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