First sentencing case review after death penalty abolishment to have Apex court hearing on Nov 14

KUALA LUMPUR: The first case to review a sentence after abolishing the mandatory death penalty and life imprisonment will be heard in the Apex court on Nov 14.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Ramkarpal Singh said the case under the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 or Act 847 will be heard at the Federal Court in Putrajaya.

He said as of Oct 31, 924 applications for review of sentences have been submitted to court.

Of this, 807 were death row inmates, while 117 were those sentenced to life imprisonment.

“Based on the Prison’s Department’s statistics, there are 1020 inmates who will benefit from the enforcement of Act 847,” he said during his ministerial reply in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Nov 6).

He said the filing and hearing of reviews of sentences will be held in phases.

Meanwhile, Gobind Singh Deo (PH-Damansara) asked if the government will ensure that the sentences of death row inmates who did not file an application to commute their sentence will be subjected to a review.

Responding to this, Ramkarpal said the Prison’s Department has given all inmates on death row and life imprisonment the application form.

“While a majority filed the review, there were a few who did not want to file a review. However, we have discussed, and the reviews should be filed under any circumstances and brought to the open court,” he said.

Under the Act, the court has the discretion to impose prison sentences of between 30 and 40 years or even the death penalty, depending on the crime.

If not sentenced to death, convicts can also be punished with whipping of no fewer than 12 strokes.

This process is among the first steps in the unity government’s plan to transform the criminal justice system.