Awam wants 'no bail' for rape and incest cases

comments     Yap Mun Ching     Published     Updated

A womens organisation today urged for uniformity within the judiciary in dealing with cases of rape and incest and for increased awareness towards the severity of the crimes.

President of the All Womens Action Society (Awam) Dr Mary Suma Cardosa said there should be a presumption by the judiciary that there should be no bail in cases involving rape and incest, especially when the offence by nature carries imprisonment term.

We wish to record our disappointment in the way the three judges dealt with a rape case reported in Ipoh last week. Despite a guilty plea, in at least one case, the judge allowed bail, she said in a press statement today.

The case in question involved the rape of a young girl by three members of her family and two others. Out of the five, judges allowed three accused to post bail pending sentencing.

Where then is the logic of allowing bail to a defendant who has pleaded guilty to a crime of rape? This not only [reduces the seriousness of] rape but it reflects the judges mindset in considering the severity of the crime, added Cardosa.

Create awareness

According to her, there is also a need to work on creating awareness of the severity of the act of rape, not just within society but also the judiciary.

She suggested that authorities come up with a guideline for judges on appropriate sentencing.

However, Cardosa said Awam remains opposed to proposals by the government to increase the period of imprisonment as it does not provide a solution to the problem.

Last Wednesday, de facto Law Minister Dr Rais Yatim was quoted as saying the government is considering changing the law to make it mandatory for the court to mete out the maximum sentence of 20 years.

We stand strongly against the idea of a mandatory sentence because it goes against the grain of independence of the judiciary.

Judges should be allowed the existing privilege of deciding on a case-to-case basis on the suitability of the sentence, she added.

Cardosa said a dialogue session between womens organisations and law-makers should be organised immediately before any decision is made on amending existing rape and incest laws.



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