Digital justice: Liew says AI to aid in sentencing for drug, rape trials in Sabah from Feb 17

KOTA KINABALU: Preparations for courts in Sabah and Sarawak to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) to aid sentencing for drug and rape cases are in place.

On Feb 17, the Kota Kinabalu court will see its first attempt at using the system.

De facto Law Minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong said Malaysia is advancing and technology is part and parcel of the changing world.

“This system, when implemented, is expected to cut short the judgement time by up to 90% compared to conventional methods, ” he said after a demonstration of a case judgement at the Kota Kinabalu court here on Thursday (Jan 30).

He said data from previous drug and rape-related cases had already been keyed into the system manually, whereas data for civil and accident-related cases are still being added.

“We hope to get the AI system to assist in civil and accident-related cases starting sometime this year, ” Liew said.

He said the AI system will only be used during the judgement phase but the ultimate decision on the suggested punishment will still be up to the judge.

Asked whether there is a possibility of the keyed-in data being leaked and breaching the privacy of the accused and victims, he said "not likely".

“This AI system will be used during the judgement or sentencing, so it means the system would analyse the facts of the case and compare it with information stored before giving out a suggested punishment, ” Liew said.

He said the system would not list out previous cases and thus, the possibility of data on previous cases being leaked was low.

On an unrelated issue, Liew said the Cabinet will discuss suggestions to increase penalties for drunk drivers, especially those who cause death.

He said this following a suggestion by Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Deputy Comm Datuk Azisman Alias to hold discussions on imposing heavier penalties seeing the rise in such cases.

Liew said the Transport Ministry will be the one to announce any amendments made to existing laws.

“This matter will be debated during the March Parliament sitting, ” he said.