theSun | TUESDAY JULY 7 2009
news without borders
High Court sets aside
‘light caning’ by judge
KUALA LUMPUR: The High
Court yesterday set aside an order
of 10 strokes of light rattan, which
was to be executed in the court
premises by a sessions judge him-
self, on an accused in an armed
robbery case.
“The case is remitted to the
same sessions court for a mention
tomorrow (Tuesday) for him (the
judge) to clarify from the welfare
officer the type of community serv-
ice available and choose one that is
appropriate in the circumstances of
the case,” Justice Datuk Mohamad
Zabidin Mohd Diah said.
On June 26, a sessions judge
ordered Muhamad Syafiq Ab Wa-
hab to be whipped with 10 strokes
of a light rattan within the court
premises, which is to be carried
out on July 15, and that the accused
performs 200 hours of community
service.
The session judge imposed the
sentence as provided for under
section 293(1) of the Criminal
Procedure Code (CPC).
Mohamad Zabidin said the
sessions judge had erred when he
made the order of whipping and
community service.
“The court may only order
one or the other. Combining the
sentences of whipping with that of
community service, as what is done
in this case, makes the sentence il-
legal,” Mohamad Zabidin said.
“With regard to the sentence of
whipping, if it is the only sentence
imposed, I am of the view that there
is nothing illegal with the sentence
as long as the judge does not intend
to carry out the canning himself.
“The sessions court is empow-
ered to impose such a sentence
but he (the judge) is not allowed
to carry out the canning himself.
This is for the obvious reason that
the judge is not supposed to be an
executioner at the same time.”
He said the court should not
leave it to the discretion of the Wel-
fare Department to determine the
appropriate community service to
be carried out by the offender.
It must address its mind to the
type of community service appro-
priate for the offender in this type
of case and specify it in the order.
“This should be done by
examining the welfare officer as
to the type of community service
available, determine which is
appropriate and specify it in the
order,” Mohamad Zabidin said.
He said he was alerted on June
27 to the possibility of a miscarriage
of justice in the sentence imposed
by the sessions judge and called
for the file to satisfy himself on the
legality of the sentence imposed.
Mohamad Zabidin said he real-
ised the great interest shown by the
public, particularly the Bar Council,
on the matter, and decided to invite
representatives from the Attorney-
General’s Chamber, the Bar Council
and the accused’s counsel.
The Bar Council was represent-
ed by Edmund Bon, N. Sivanan-
than and Amer Hamzah Arshad.
The accused was represented by
Nik Mohamed Ikhwan.
PKA to release payment
to Kuala Dimensi
KUALA LUMPUR: The Port
Klang Authority (PKA) has
decided to release the pay-
ment of RM660 million due to
Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the
Port Klang Free Zone project
turnkey contractor, thus re-
versing its earlier decision.
In a statement yesterday,
Great PKA chairman Datuk Lee
Eastern Hwa Beng said the decision
was made after the authori-
targets ty’s board, which met in the
25% morning, took into consid-
growth in eration the appeal from the
trustees for the bondholders
premiums and the stand of the Ministry
pg 13 of Finance.
He said the trustees for the
bondholders, in an appeal
letter dated July 3, apart from
describing the background of
the issuance of private debt
securities, also spelt out the
consequences of non-pay-
ment and the possibility of
the trustees acting upon the
directions of the bondholders
and commercial papers/me-
dium term notes holders to
enforce the security charged.
PKA also received instruc-
tions from the Treasury that
the board be mindful of the
9
implications that might affect
the confidence of investors,
local or foreign, in the Ma-
laysian private debt securities
market, he said.
Lee said the payment for
amount due on June 30 is
made on a “without preju-
dice and with reservation
of rights” basis and without
admission of liability, and it
will also not waver from its
earlier commitment to seek
legal remedies and take
other appropriate actions to
determine its true liabilities
and rights.
Recently, PKA decided
to defer the RM660 million
payment to Kuala Dimensi
pending the completion of
investigation by the special
task force.
The payment in four
parts from June to July to
Kuala Dimensi are supposed
to go to the four special
purpose vehicles – Special
Port Vehicle Bhd, Tranship-
ment Megahub Bhd, Valid
Ventures Bhd and Free Zone
Capital Bhd – that were cre-
ated to issue bonds to finance
the project. – Bernama