SIBU: A 31-year-old pregnant prisoner here is thankful to have been given a second chance in life after being granted home detention under the Licensed Prisoner Release Programme (PBSL).Nini (not her real name) is the first in Sarawak and the fourth in the country to be allowed home detention under PBSL.
At 28 weeks pregnant, Nini met one of the programme’s criteria.
Under PBSL, she would serve her remaining four months of imprisonment at home.
She was sentenced by the Sibu Magistrate’s Court to 13 months’ jail for petty crime.
“I am very happy and thankful to the prison authorities for allowing me to serve the remaining four months of my sentence at home under the programme. “This will allow me to live a normal life like any other person,” she told reporters at Sibu Prison yesterday.
Speaking between sobs, Nini pledged not to repeat the same mistake.
She also vowed to abide by the conditions set for home detention.
When asked what she plans to do as a home detainee, Nini said she would take care of her two children, aged two and three.
Nini’s sister acted as the guarantor for her release, which was witnessed by Sarawak Prison director Teyun Thian Eim.
Teyun said the criteria to qualify for PBSL are inmates with chronic diseases, those above aged 70, persons with disabilities and women prisoners who are 28 weeks pregnant.
The programme is also for prisoners serving jail sentences of four years and below for petty crime.Teyun added that inmates who violate the home detention conditions will have the status revoked.Among the conditions stipulated for home detention are that the prisoners will not commit any crime again and that they need to be at home except when seeking medical treatment.
“If they breach home detention, they will then have to serve the remaining sentence in prison.
“They could also be charged in court and liable to not more than two years’ jail or a fine or both,” said Teyun.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail previously said the government had agreed to implement PBSL through home detention as an effort to reduce overcrowding in prisons.
