KUCHING, March 7 — The federal government’s proposal for the introduction of home detection to reduce overcrowding in prison will give rise to discrimination, says Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan.
Voon, a practising lawyer, opined that such move, if implemented, would amount to ‘selective’ imprisonment of convicted offenders.
“House arrest is only suitable for accused persons who are awaiting trial of their cases,” he stressed, adding that the sentencing is to reserve jail space for more serious offenders and to protect public safety.
The government, he said, should not allow house arrest for convicted offenders.
“If implemented, it would amount to selective imprisonment of convicted offenders and which will also give rise to discrimination against other offenders who may be refused this privilege by the court.”
Adding on, Voon said the government has to look at the constitutionality of such house arrest because the law must not allow any unfair or prejudicial treatment to the people.
“All should be treated equally irrespective of race, colour, creed or religion. It is for the government to solve overcrowding of prisoners in prison, but it should not seek an easy way out of this problem,” he said.
The overcrowding of prison, he believed, was caused by those entering the country who had overstayed or were found without proper travel documents.
“This also shows that the borders are porous and are easily penetrated by these foreign nationals,” he said.
Voon also called for the government to scrap the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) which he deemed as not only ‘draconian’ or excessively harsh and severe in nature, but which also prohibits bail pending trial in many cases.
“Sosma allows suspects or the accused to be detained in prison pending their trial, and this too can cause overcrowding in prison,” he said.
Voon also highlighted an issue recently raised in Parliament, where some detainees were allegedly ‘forced’ to plead guilty so that they could be granted an early release.
“The duration in which these detainees were being held could be marked as their sentencing period, and therefore, if Sosma is abused against innocent people, this definitely could lead to prison overcrowding,” he said. — The Borneo Post
