Single mum jailed for MCO violation freed today

Updated 6 years ago · Published on 29 Apr 2020 1:15PM · 1 Comments

MCO violators at the Petaling Jaya magistrates’ court yesterday. The chief justice is urging judges to avoid sending violators to jails in view of the Covid-19 outbreak. – The Malaysian Insight pic, April 29, 2020.

A SINGLE mother, sentenced to 30 days’ jail for breaching the movement control order (MCO), was released by the Shah Alam High Court today after her sentenced was reduced to a RM1,000 fine.

Judicial commissioner Norsharidah Awang who heard B. Lisa Christina’s review application of her custodial sentence, fined the woman the maximum RM1,000 for violating the MCO, Free Malaysia Today reports.

“I have taken into account that you are a first-time offender and that you have been in prison for eight days,” said the judge, who warned that she will be jailed if she breaches the MCO again.

Lisa, the mother of a six-year-old, applied for a review, citing disparity in sentencing. She and two others were charged with the same offence but the other two were only fined RM1,000.

Lisa was in Kajang jail after pleading guilty before a magistrate in Petaling Jaya on April 21.

Her lawyer, Rajpal Singh from the Selangor Legal Aid Centre, said Lisa lived in an apartment and had gone to buy a drink at a nearby shop when she stopped to chat with two acquaintances before being arrested.

Among the three however, only she was sentenced to jail while the other two were fined.

Yesterday, Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali and Perak exco Razman Zakaria were fined RM1,000 and received no jail sentence after pleading guilty to violating the MCO. Both became the target of social media backlash.

Deputy Rural Development Minister Abdul Rahman Mohamad recently also received online flak after a photo of him reportedly celebrating his birthday with a group of people surfaced on April 13.

The Umno lawmaker said the event was a surprise from volunteers when he left home to go to Putrajaya for a meeting with the National Security Council.

In a directive issued earlier this month, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat called on judges to consider the overcrowded jail conditions when sentencing MCO offenders.

Human rights groups also said imprisonment under the circumstances could cause more harm with potential for suicide, fighting and new Covid-19 outbreaks, while some lawyers said the poor are disproportionately punished.

More than 21,100 people have been arrested for violating the MCO since March 18, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said yesterday. – April 29, 2020.

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Comments

  • In the very first instance the Magistrate or Judge whatever u call tis category human SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SO HARSH WITH A SINGLE PARENT. Tis particular Judge should mete out HARSH SENTENCE TO POLITICIANS WHO KNOWINGLY VIOLATE MCO. Cheif Judge of malaysia shld look into the magistrate or judge category with DOUBT. Are they doing JUSTICE or REVERSE .

    Posted 6 years ago by Lucky Boy · Reply