Corpun file 13844

Utusan Express on line, Kuala Lumpur, 4 June 2004

Court

Nursery operator's husband gets 15 years and 5 strokes for rape of girl

MOHAMED Yusof Rahmat (C) being escorted out of the Shah Alam Sessions Court, after his sentencing for the rape of a five-year-old girl, June 3. - Utusanpix.

SHAH ALAM June 3 - A mini market supervisor was jailed for 15 years and ordered to be given five strokes of the rotan by the sessions court here Thursday for raping a five-year-old girl who was under the charge of his wife at her day nursery.

Mohamed Yusof Rahmat, 34, was found guilty of committing the offence at the day nursery in Taman Greenwood, Gombak, between 8 am and 5 pm on Dec 25, 2001 and Jan 14, 2002.

Judge Suraya Othman however allowed his application for stay of execution pending appeal in the high court.

She increased bail to RM10,000 in one surety from RM5,000 granted to him previously. The defence was ordered to file the notice of appeal Friday.

On May 21 last year, the girl testified against Mohamed Yusof through video conferencing.

In passing sentence, Suraya said that the court had taken into account that it was Mohamed Yusof's first offence.

Suraya however said that the offence committed by Mohamed Yusof, a father of four, was serious as it involved a child who had been traumatised by the incident.

She said that as a father, Mohamed Yusof should know that children should be protected and cared for instead of being subjected to what he did.

Earlier in her judgment, she said that the girl had unhesitatingly identified Mohamed Yusof as the person who committed the offence.

She also said that the court had been cautious so as not to convict a person based on unsworn evidence of a child, who was then already six years' old.

However, she said, the girl's evidence was corroborated by the evidence of medical experts and family members.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sallehuddin Saidin, who proposed that a heavy sentence be imposed on Mohamed Yusof, said that it should serve as a deterrence to others as rape cases were now rampant.

He also said that the fact that the child was entrusted by her parents and her grandparents to be taken care of at the nursery must also be taken into consideration.

Defence counsel Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, in mitigation, said that a heavy sentence would not help solve the problem of rampant rape cases in the country.

© UTUSAN MELAYU (M) BHD., 46M, Jalan Lima Off Jalan Chan Sow Lin, 55200 Kuala Lumpur.

Corpun file 13789

Daily Express, Kota Kinabalu, 16 June 2004

342 illegal immigrants jailed

The foreigners, comprising Filipinos, Indonesians, and Pakistanis were found to have entered the State illegally, overstayed and with fake passes.

They were arrested in Lahad Datu and Tawau by police and immigration enforcement personnel.

Two hundred and seventy-eight of them were men while the rest were women, aged between 18 and 55.

The men who entered the State illegally were also ordered to be caned once.

........

Copyright © Daily Express, Sabah, Malaysia

Corpun file 13609

Straits Times, Singapore, 19 June 2004

Outcry Over Snatch Thefts

Angry Malaysians want thieves caned

The call to punish offenders with the cane gets louder with each new case, but rights activists say it won't help

By Rene Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR - Forget about terrorists.

Public Enemy No. 1 in Malaysia these days is the snatch thief.

And when public anger hits the roof, they almost always ask the authorities to reach for the cane.

Two women snatch-theft victims were killed within three weeks, and the newspapers, television and Internet chatrooms are full of angry feedback.

'Hit the criminals hard and make it most painful for them. Treat them like rapists and dump them in jail for at least 20 years and give them 20 lashes of the rotan,' Mr Ghazali Osman wrote in a letter to the New Straits Times on Thursday.

Never mind that members of the riot police are already patrolling the tourist district of Bukit Bintang for 12 hours daily to show that things are under control.

'Our presence helps the public feel more secure. We move around the shopping centres near the kerbs to make sure people are safe,' said Corporal Francis Rajoo as he was taking a breather near the popular Lot 10 mall.

The riot police complemented police efforts in Ops Ragut (Operation Snatch) by stopping motorcycles at random and checking identity cards and bags.

Public anger was translated into action recently when a snatch thief was beaten to death by several men after he botched an escape.

Yet it seems that not everyone is appeased until the perpetrators are caned.

While the outpouring of anger and grief is understandable, it is quite alarming to note that the call to whip criminals is getting louder with each violent crime.

Look at these recent events and the punishment mooted by some:

• June: In Johor, Nanyang Siang Pau clerk Chong See Chin died after being dragged several metres and hitting her head on the road in a snatch-theft incident, and the authorities are mulling over public feedback to lash snatch thieves. 
• May: The case of 19-year-old Indonesian maid Nirmala Bonet, who was allegedly abused and disfigured by her employer in Kuala Lumpur. There were calls for the employers in such cases to be lashed.
• March: Flogging demonstrations started in several schools after 16-year-old boarding school student Mohamed Farid Ibrahim was allegedly beaten to death by senior students in Negeri Sembilan, and amid reports of gangsterism in schools. The 'roadshows' were stopped after a warning from the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia that the demonstrations were against the rights of children and may lead to them thinking that violence is acceptable.
• January: Ten-year-old Nurul Huda Ghani was gang-raped and left to die in Johor, sparking calls for public caning, and even castration, of those involved.

Ms Cynthia Gabriel, executive director at human rights group Suaram, says caning will not rehabilitate the criminal.

'It seems the easy way out. At one point there was a lot of hue and cry about rape, and now about snatch thieves.

'Regardless of the crime committed, it is not appropriate and won't help rehabilitate the perpetrator,' she told The Straits Times.

Others thought that while caning could serve as a deterrent, it should not be the first thing to be pulled out of the hat.

'Things are not so straightforward to say yes, caning is bad, or not.

'But you should not just look at punitive measures as education of the public is very important,' said Ms Wong Peck Lin, manager at All Women Action Society, who was herself a victim of snatch theft two years ago.

She said city councils have a role in ensuring pedestrians' safety by making proper walkways and providing better lighting, the police must step up their presence, and women must be more street-savvy.

'Why is it that men don't need to carry handbags and purses, and women are the most common victims?

'It is because men keep everything on their persons and out of sight,' said Ms Wong.

Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

Corpun file 13755

Sarawak Tribune, Kuching, 22 June 2004

Bomoh gets 13 years, rotan for miscalculated sexual adventure

By Clarence Tong

OFF TO JAIL ... Suriadi being escorted out of the court after sentencing yesterday.

BINTULU -- The Sessions Court here yesterday sentenced an Indonesian 'medicine man' to 13 years' jail and ordered him to be whipped four times for raping a 23-year-old housewife three months ago.

Suriadi bin Bujang, 38, of Sambas, Indonesia pleaded guilty to raping the housewife in an unnumbered workers' quarters at Samudera Estate at Km 53, Jalan Bintulu-Miri about 10.30pm on 4 March.

Judge Timothy Finlayson Joel in his judgment said a stiffer sentence must be meted out as a signal to any would-be offender to think twice before unleashing his animal instinct or sexual desire.

He said Suriadi was supposed to treat the victim who was then having pain in the stomach. But instead took the opportunity to rape her.

The accused had caused shame to the victim through the traumatic experience and suffering the irreparable loss of dignity as a woman and wife to her husband and family.

He said the accused had also abused his position in his community as they looked upon him as their 'medicine man'. Timothy described the act of the accused as a miscalculated sexual adventure which he now must pay for. He ordered the jail term to take effect from the date of Suriadi's arrest on 5 March.

The offence, punishable under section 376 of the Penal Code carries a mandatory jail of not less than five years and not exceeding 20 years and liable to whipping upon conviction. Meanwhile, Suriadi pleaded not guilty to another rape charge which he was alleged to have committed on the same victim at a workers' barrack of the plantation at 9am on 27 January. The court fixed hearing to 17 August.

Copyright ©2003 Sarawak Press Sdn. Bhd. All rights reserved.

Corpun file 13630

The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 24 June 2004

Prison department leaves out exhibits on whipping

LENGGONG: The recent ban on whipping demonstrations in primary schools has affected the content of displays at mobile exhibition booths put up by the Prisons Department to showcase the punishment meted out to convicts.

This was evident at the department's exhibition booths put up during the 100th anniversary celebration of SK Kampung Beng near here recently, which was opened by Education Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

Among the items absent were photographs of the convicts' bleeding buttocks, samples of the rotan used for whipping and a mannequin of a strapped convict -- a common sight at the department's previous public exhibitions.

A prison warder minding the Prisons Department exhibition booth confirmed that such items were no longer allowed to be displayed to the public.

The ban was announced by Deputy Internal Security Minister Chia Kwang Chye on May 31, following protests from several quarters including the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) over a newspaper report that a public caning demonstration was carried out at SK Taiping.

Suhakam expressed concern that such demonstrations would legitimise cruelty, inhuman or degrading treatment.

© 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

Corpun file 13641

Borneo Bulletin, Brunei, 30 June 2004

Indonesian jailed for illegal possession of firearms

By Marie Sitong

Ramli being led from the courtroom after sentencing. Pic: M. Sitong

BINTULU - An Indonesian national convicted of unlawful possession of firearms and live ammunition charges was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment and ordered to be given six strokes of rotan by the Sessions Court.

Ramli Muslimin, 40, was found guilty after trial before Judge Timothy Finlayson Joel on a count of unlawful possession of home-made semi-automatic pistol which is punishable under section 8 Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act, 1971 which carries a maximum prison term of 14 years and whipping of not less than six strokes upon conviction.

He was also found guilty on a second charge for possessing four live bullets without permit and contravened section 8(a) Arms Act 1960 with a maximum penalty of seven years.

The judge said due to the severity of the case involving a foreigner and in the interest of public safety as well as a deterrent to other would-be offenders who tried to possess firearms with criminal intention, the prison terms of the two charges are to run consecutively.

Prosecuting Officer ASP Anthony Abell in his submission earlier said the prosecution had adduced incriminating evidence on April 26, 2003 at 4pm when Ramli was nabbed by police at the parking lot in Tanjong Batu beach.

Copyright © 2003 Brunei Press Sdn Bhd. All right reserved.