‘CAPITAL PUNISHMENT UNDER REVIEW’
Govt looking at measures taken by other countries, says DPM
DATUK Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the government is still considering whether to abolish the death penalty. The deputy prime minister said the government wanted to prevent innocent people from being wrongly sentenced to death.
She said there were calls to abolish the death penalty as it was not seen as an effective deterrent to crime.
“However, there are people who commit the most unthinkable and heinous crimes.
“That is why the mandatory death penalty was put in place to curb this problem,” she said after launching the Program Astro Junior Championships U15 at Stadium Juara here yesterday.
She was asked to respond to calls by the public and non-governmental organisations to retain the death penalty following the tragic death of a 11-month-old baby girl in Bandar Baru Bangi.
The victim was believed to have been raped, sodomised and abused.
Netizens had urged the government to reconsider its intention to abolish the death sentence to deal with such cases.
Last week, the girl’s parents said the abolishment of the death penalty was not only unjust but would also lead to an increase in the number of serious crimes.
Dr Wan Azizah said the government was looking at measures taken by other countries that had abolished the death penalty, including Australia.
She added that the government remained committed to ensuring that the death penalty would not result in wrongful executions or a miscarriage of justice.
On Sunday, DAP lawmaker Ramkarpal Singh changed his stance on ending the death penalty following the death of the girl.
He said discretion should be given to courts to impose the death penalty in the most heinous of crimes.
Last month, the cabinet agreed to abolish the death penalty and halt all pending executions.