AS of October 31, courts have received 924 review applications over life and mandatory death and life sentences.

Deputy Law and Institutional Reform Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Ramkarpal Singh said the figure comprises 807 death sentence reviews and 117 life sentence reviews.

This was following the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 that took effect on July 4 and the Review of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 (Act 847) on September 12.

“Statistics from the Prisons Department showed 1,020 prisoners will benefit from the provisions of Act 847. The first hearings for sentence reviews under Act 847 will take place on November 14 at the Federal Court in Putrajaya.

“As for the duration of the review process, there is no specific timeline, and the filing and hearing processes will be carried out in stages,” he said when winding up the Supply Bill 2024 debate for the Prime Minister’s Department today.

Ramkarpal said about RM12 million has been allocated for sentence review bids, including for legal aid.

Earlier, Gobind Singh Deo (Damansara-PH) when debating the legislation asked for clarification on the number of sentence review applications and the costs involved in the review process. – Bernama, November 6, 2023.