DISPROPORTIONATE punishments and the arrest of almost 2,000 people for breaching the movement-control order in Sarawak are keeping a number of young lawyers from the National Legal Aid Foundation busy.

The foundation provides free legal assistance to those who can’t afford it.

One such lawyer is Berrylin Ng, who only recently joined the legal business, has in three days handled 22 cases.

It’s a busy time when people are asked to stay at home for both the lawyers and the courts, said Ng, who was only called to the Sarawak Bar last November.

One Kuching magistrates’ court reportedly was hearing up to 60 cases a day.

As of Saturday, 1,363 of the 1,987 arrested across the state have been charged. Some of the punishment handed down are destined to be appealed as they are deemed to be excessive in relation to the breach committed.

One such excessive case Ng handled involved two men arrested and charged with breaching the MCO when they went out to buy mineral water to donate to a family holding a wake.

The men were daily-wage labourers who are not earning an income since the MCO was imposed on March 18.

When they appeared before a magistrate on April 23, they were found guilty and handed the maximum fine of RM1,000, and on top of that a custodial sentence of seven days’ jail.

The jail time could stretch to 17 days if they fail to pay the fine. The default sentence was another 10 days.

“They were working as labourers and have lost their job. They were performing a charitable deed.

“I pleaded in mitigation that charity works should not attract heavy sentences or it would deter people from helping one another during these times,” Ng said.

But the magistrate held that giving out mineral water during the MCO was not an essential service.

Ng is waiting for instructions from the National Legal Aid Foundation if an appeal should be filed.

She said the view among the senior foundation lawyers is that a fine was sufficient without the need for additional imprisonment.

“If the sentence passed is just a fine, I do think it’s appropriate and within the spirit of the MCO regulations as it would likely keep people indoors.

“However, if the fine imposed is the maximum allowed by the regulations, then it is a little bit excessive.

“Factors, such as why violators breached the MCO, should always be given consideration when meting out the fine.”

Ng also said the authorities are a little too strict with some of the cases referred to court, and the fact that MCO violations are treated as criminal is detrimental to the accused’s individual records.

“It could affect more than just their pocket in the long term.

“There must be a balance in maintaining the aims of the MCO, which is to keep the number of people outside of their homes at the minimum.

“So, cases where people are caught outside of their homes after 7pm without valid reasons ought to be brought to court for stringent action.

Whether or not the police choose to charge MCO violators is their prerogative but the courts should also exercise more discretion when deciding on the sentence, she said.

This is especially so in cases concerning first-time offenders, she added.

“There should not be an overemphasis on a deterrent sentence in an arbitrary manner as there is already a downward trend in the number of positive cases with the passing weeks.”

Simon Siah, on the other hand, is not exactly a newbie but he handled the appeal of the most “celebrated” MCO violation in the state.

Siah was the counsel of Ensunai Eyok, now celebrated at Ibu Tamu at the Sibu Jaya flea market, in the high court appeal.

The mother of two got into trouble for her rant against a Sibujaya rural district council enforcement officer.

On March 25, Ensunai was caught shouting at Houng Kah Tung in a video which has since gone viral on social media.

She was slapped with two charges – obstructing an officer from discharging his public function and violating the Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020.

She was unhappy when asked to pack up and go home for violating the infectious diseases regulation which states “no person shall make any journey from one place to another place within any infected local area”.

In the rant in her native Iban language, she suggested that if the government could provide her RM1,500 a month, that would be enough to feed her family members and she would just stay at home.

When the unrepresented Ensunai appeared before a magistrate on March 30, she pleaded guilty to both charges.

For the obstruction charge, she was fined RM4,000 and a three-month jail term, while for the second charge, she was fined RM1,000 and given a one-month jail sentence.

In the appeal, Siah told judge Lim Hock Leng that the case is an “unfortunate example of how the poorest of our community needed to survive during this pandemic where they need only RM1,500 to feed herself and her family”.

“Even if the pandemic does not kill her, she would have been killed by poverty. Her words were words of frustration and no doubt her action in raising her voice to the enforcement is wrong, but such is a reality that she is living in during this period.”

Allowing the appeal, Ensunai’s jail sentence from obstructing the council officer was reduced to nine days and the fine to RM1,000.

For infringing the MCO, her jail sentence was also reduced to nine days but the RM1,000 fine was maintained.

Ensunai walked out of the court a free woman as she had already spent nine days in jail.

The Sarawak cases echoed peninsula-based Lawyers for Liberty concerns when on Thursday, it appealed to the authorities to exercise restraint in MCO arrests and charges.

The civil society group said the arrests, remand orders and prison sentences for violations of the MCO go against international guidance on detention during the Covid-19 pandemic. – May 4, 2020.