Saying it’s ‘barbaric’, Sarawak activist calls for review of caning penalty after Syed Saddiq sentence

KUCHING, Nov 14 — Human rights activist Peter John Jaban today called on the Law and Institutional Reform Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said to review the current law relating to caning on offenders of white collar crimes.

He said caning is a barbaric practice that puts Malaysia out of step with the international community and human rights advocates.

“It is a relic from the 19th century colonial rule that, in my view, has no place in modern Malaysian society, particularly for a white-collar crime such as this,” he said when referring to the sentence of caning handed down to Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman who was found guilty of criminal breach of trust in misappropriating RM120,000 from Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise, abetment in disposing the funds, and two counts of engaging of money laundering.

For this, the 31-year-old was sentenced to seven years in jail, RM10 million fine, and two strokes of the cane.

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Jaban said Syed Saddiq’s punishment is disproportionate to the crime in question and unnecessary in a modern nation.

He added that such a punishment often leaves the subject scarred for life, adding that it is an exercise in humiliation and an exertion of dominance by the state.

“It leaves a mark long after the offender has served his time and is free to return to society, a presumption that all convicted criminals are entitled to,” he said.

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He said a key principle of law is that the sentence should be proportionate to the crime.

“While we abhor corruption of all forms, Syed Saddiq will also be serving a seven-year custodial sentence and subject to a substantial fine.

“The addition of corporal punishment is a step too far and one that has not been imposed on other politicians accused of similar or even worse examples of graft,” Jaban said.

He pointed out that Syed Saddiq is not a “violent crime offender” or a “repeat offender” to justify what he described as “state-sanctioned violence”.

He said a seven-year custodial sentence should be more than enough to remind Syed Saddiq of his debt to society.

Jaban said the state should certainly not be setting itself up as more violent than the criminal it seeks to punish.

“This kind of sentence does not put Malaysia in a good light internationally and does not, in this case, fit the purpose of the law, that is, to protect society and to provide justice,” he said.

In delivering his verdict and sentence last Thursday, High Court Judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid said he had taken into consideration all of the mitigation arguments submitted by the defence and the prosecution, including public interest and that of the accused.