Former detainee: Sosma should be retained
KUALA LUMPUR: “The one thing I learned from my detention is that greed and crime will not get anyone far and it is surely not worth the price to pay,” said a 37-yearold ex-Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) detainee.
He shared his two-year detention experience at Bentung Prison under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (POCA).
In an interview, the former detainee from Perak said keeping the act in place would instil fear in criminals and keep them in check.
The man, who only wanted to be known as Ram, said the law had reduced the number of crimes over the last couple of years.
“Some of the conditions may sound harsh and hard to accept, but as a former criminal, I think it is easier for criminals to get away through loopholes in our legal system.”
He said imprisonment without trial was there because the authorities had reasons to believe that a person had committed a crime, but lacked sufficient evidence, in which on trial would set him free.
“I believe this is one of the many reasons POCA is amended and regulated directly by Home Ministry,” said Ram.
He is among the pioneer batch to be place behind bars under Sosma provisions for armed robbery in Johor Baru in 2014.
Ram was at Air Molek Prison in Melaka for 60 days upon his arrest over the offence, before transferred to Bentong Prison. He then placed under Restricted Residential programme in March last year before his release this year.
Ram said Sosma should be retained as it would prevent or put fear on those seeking to commit serious crime.
“If it is abolished, many lowlying criminals will not hesitate to commit serious crimes as they are smart enough not to leave any evidence behind, making it almost impossible to arrest them.
“But now with Sosma, they dare not try,” he said.
Ram has turned over a new leaf following his release. He moved back to Damansara with his wife, promising to focus on building his new life.
The Sosma-POCA was revived through an amendment in 2013, to address the increase of crime in the country. It also managed to reduce crime rate by 47 per cent since it was put place, reports say.