A lot of things have been said about what is said to be an unusual decision of our Malaysian court involving a local bowling player who was convicted of statutory rape but released under “good behaviour” bond.

The bond is considered by people as a “lesser” kind of punishment than the earlier prison sentence. Thus, many are not happy because he is not sent to prison but instead released to assimilate with society.

As a student of law, we learnt many ways on how judges derive his decision on sentencing a person. In the end, it is up to the judge to decide based on the arguments raised by both defense counsel (for the accused) and the prosecutor (on behalf of the state). Sometimes, an accused cannot afford a lawyer so he is left on his own to tell the judge why he should not get harsh sentence.

Some people say that it does not matter that much if an accused does not have a lawyer. Well, it does matter. Justice, no matter how elusive it may be, should serve both sides. Such is the commercial nature of an adversarial system inherited to us as a by-product of colonisation and perhaps also the greatest gift by the British for us (and many countries around the world).

From a legal standpoint, the decision by the Court of Appeal, created a precedent to all lower courts. This decision may revolutionise for defense lawyers to mitigate for “lighter” sentences for their clients. In a different light, it could be seen as lacunae (loophole in Latin), in which decision is so absurd that goes against the fabric of criminal justice system and may open up the floodgates of convicts listing out reasons of appeal under the heading and basis of a “promising future”.

Forgive me, but the answer to these exciting questions is beyond me at present moment.

As humanity progresses and civil rights movements’ flourishes, we should ponder ourselves whether we all Malaysian realise the kind of influence we have in our criminal justice system.

We must stay vigilant and tell the government the kind of message we want to send to the world.

The judges hands are somewhat tied by myriad and plethora of decided cases. Despite this, every case is a unique one and must be decided by merits. It is also up to the kind of eloquent arguments raised by the lawyers in the court to assist the court in a “just” decision. In the end, it is up to the presiding judge’s discretion to pronounce an appropriate verdict.

Personally, I sympathise judges for the low remuneration and the kind of pressure they have to embrace daily in deciding on what is an “appropriate” punishment to represent our “Malaysian culture”. Perhaps it’s one of those occupational hazards. The kind of similar sentiment I have towards all the doctors for all the kinds of cock-ups that life has to offer.

I think, collectively as a nation, we stand guilty of modern day stigmatisation and public shaming — taking advantage of the miseries and sufferings of the unrecognised victims by starting our own prejudices for our own good self-righteousness.

A convicted “promising future” bowler, now well-known widely thanks to our efficient mainstream media and all those freelance journalists on social media platforms so quick disseminating news about every people’s conducts and judging every single action of others.

Perhaps, the earlier decision of the court to send the bowler to jail would be a better one. Incarceration from society would definitely safeguard humanity and the prison is our last bastion of hope to keep us safe from the most dangerous and vicious criminals.

It would really save him from public shaming and booing from people every time he goes out in public. Would this decision be a more appropriate one? I mean, what would be an “appropriate” decision for you?

How much more public shaming should a person receive until the person is fully “rehabilitated”? Does the person even deserve any kind of sympathy or entitled to have remorse? Should a bad person receive a “second chance”? What if the person goes to jail and go out and do bad things again? What if this happened? What if that happened?

And yet, who shall be the judge?

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Recently graduated from law school and now seeking a suitable firm for pupillage. Say hello to him on Twitter at @izwanzakaria. Please mind the gap, it's growing daily here in Malaysia.

6 replies on “Rapist Bowler: Who Shall Be The Judge?”

  1. If you're a dude and you keep going despite hearing the word "Stop" or if you start even if you hear the word "No", you deserve to be turned into a woman surgically. Vice versa, of course. I mean, what gives you the right to overpower and veto another equal's decision? Unless of course, at that time your apparatus is doing all the decision-making for you. Or you don't believe in gender equality in the first place. Sorry for being so direct.

  2. The very notion of consensual, especially if there is an inbalance of power, status, maturity and life experience, becomes a major issue in ethics, as feminism will explain. It does not matter whether whether the 'victim' of statutory rape is male or female. What matters is the gap between both parties.

  3. Here's how I see it, to send the bowler to be punished by the public would defeat the original intention of the court in allowing for the lesser punishment. I mean the court intended to allow him to have a bright future. What sort of future do you think he will have with the public scorning following him for the rest of his life? Say, had the court put him in prison for 5 years, he'd be kept away from the public and would not have to bear with the humiliation. When he's finally out, public is likely to have forgotten what he did. Now, he has to endure this public punishment for god knows how long. Which then defeats the one of the main purposes of a penal code, that is to give a definite penalty.

  4. Regardless with or without consent,having sex with a minor is statutory rape and punishable by mandatory jail term.
    Load of guys in Singapore are being sent to jail recently for having sex with an underage prostitute. U have to be consistent in interpreting the law. The jail term can however vary.

  5. Isn’t the purpose of “mandatory” to make it “mandatory”? How can judges go against what has been lawfully legislated?

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