KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — On October 6, Malaysia took a historic step towards the complete abolition of capital punishment when it introduced amendments to existing legislation in Parliament to replace the mandatory death penalty for several criminal offences.
Under its criminal justice system, Malaysia currently recognises 33 capital offences, of which 11 carry the mandatory sentence of death by hanging upon conviction, while the remaining 22 are discretionary.has taken the liberty to provide a simple breakdown of each Bill and their respective revisions.This seeks to insert a new section — Section 3A — into the Criminal Justice Act 1953 to provide for an explanation for the term of “imprisonment for natural life”.
Under the new amendment, whipping will be reduced from 15 strokes to 12 strokes if the death sentence is not imposed. The amendment would also provide discretion to the court on whether to impose the death penalty against a convicted person or imprisonment for natural life with whipping.Section 14 of the Arms Act 1960 is to be amended by varying the penalty for the manufacturing of arms or ammunition without or in breach of a valid licence; Section 2 is to be amended by deleting the definition “imprisonment for life” as the term’s meaning is explained in Act 345.
Among the First Schedule amendments, the words “or imprisonment for natural life” is inserted after the words “punishable with death” for several items relating to the provisions in the Penal Code.7. Penal Code Bill 2022 This would give the courts the discretion to decide whether to impose the death penalty or impose the sentence of imprisonment for natural life with whipping under the aforementioned Sections.