'Avoid draconian handling of MCO violators'

Kota Kinabalu: The Council for Restorative Justice Sabah (CRJS) said it takes a serious view of the custodial sentences meted out to violators of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in the country’s fight to contain the spread of the coronavirus or Covid-19, amidst a global pandemic.

CRJS President Dr KH Tan (pic) said bureaucratic or draconian handling of violators of MCO should be avoided at all costs given there are currently no clear guidelines on what areas are deemed outside the movement control destination

He said CRJS had last year called on the police to avoid charging offenders of lesser offences that may call for a prison sentence but to allow the offenders and victims to resort to restorative justice (RJ) due to overcrowding in prisons. “On the same note, RJ can be brought to the violators of MCO with admonitions and counselling in lieu of the danger of sentencing by the judiciary to incarceration which defeats the very purpose of the MCO on social distancing, apart from the risk of causing an outbreak of Covid-19 in the already overcrowded prisons in the country.

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CRJS whilst appreciating the government commendable efforts, the dedication of the frontliners, police and law enforcement in carrying out the tedious tasks of ensuring strict compliance by the public of the MCO for the good and wellbeing of everyone, is equally pleased to note that in Sabah, although there are currently minimum cases of violators of MCO, and agrees with Dato’ Seri Zulkifli Omar, the Director-General of Prisons Malaysia that it would be another outbreak should the inmates and staff in prisons be infected with the virus given the thousands of inmates there, not to mention the staff personnel. He said The already overstressed state’s existing medical frontliners may not be able to cope with such fatal calamity.

CRJS is also concerned for the health and safety of the existing inmates in prisons and the staff of the prisons department which presently they are covid-19 free, even with personal protective equipment not to be unduly exposed to the virus infection, as there is no certainty of the health conditions of the new inmates sent to the prisons whether on remand or after being charged.

He said the Sabah Law Society and the Malaysian Bar and others have expressed similar concern, CRJS reiterates that it is important for law enforcement to consider the circumstances of the violators of MCO, particularly if they are first offenders so that safer alternative sentencing can be meted such as for the judiciary to consider to mete out suspension of driver’s license, fine, bind over, compound community services or restriction of overseas travel after the virus pandemic ends instead of custodial sentence / imprisonment. Understanding the situation with compassion of the offenders in the present unprecedented situation of the country is equally necessary as violations of MCO while serious, are not of a violent nature.

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An appraisal of the violation whether it was done willfully and or repeatedly should also be considered on humanitarian grounds and even if such violations which may be of a violent nature and may falls under the Penal Code and other minor offences so as not to add to the woes of overcrowding in prisons with the sentence of incarcerations and the stress of the medical frontliners Economically, incarceration will also add unnecessary costs to the already weak economy of the country and viz-a-viz the tax payers.

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