Anwar Ibrahim should be sentenced to more than the five years meted out by the Appeals Court for his Sodomy II conviction, says the prosecution team.

 

The five-year jail term fails to serve the ends of justice from the perspective of public interest, the prosecution argued in a petition of appeal sighted by Malaysiakini .

 

The prosecution said the appellate judges made a mistake because the sentence does not reflect the gravity of the offence, nor does it serve as a reminder to society.

 

“The five years' jail term is manifestly inadequate compared to the provisions of 20 years’ jail and rotan (whipping), as stipulated under Section 377B of the Penal Code,” the prosecution argued.

 

These are the grounds filed by the prosecution to ask the Federal Court to enhance the opposition leader’s jail term.

 

On March 7, the Court of Appeal overturned the Kuala Lumpur High Court 2012 decision, and found the opposition leader guilty of sodomy, sentencing him to five years’ jail  term.

 

Anwar's legal team, now headed by senior lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah again in place of the late Karpal Singh, had filed 35 grounds in the appeal against the conviction in the country's highest court.

 

The final appeal for the PKR de facto leader, who is 67, is set for a two-day hearing on Tuesday.

In a counter appeal, the prosecution is seeking a longer jail sentence for Anwar.