Published: Monday December 13, 2010 MYT 1:21:00 PM
Updated: Monday December 13, 2010 MYT 3:41:14 PM
Plead guilty and get only half the punishment: Chief Justice
By RAHIMY RAHIM
KUALA LUMPUR: Those who plead guilty in court will soon get half the maximum punishment due under the law as they save the courts' time and reduce the number of backlogged cases.
"The guidelines are currently being drafted and the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code will involve the Attorney-General, the Bar Council and the Courts," said Chief Justice Tun Zaki Tun Azmi at the second Judges Conference here Monday.
However, Zaki was unable to say exactly when they would be implemented. "The step was taken to help reduce the numbers of backlogged cases so the cases can be cleared as fast as possible," he said.
The Chief Justice also hoped that the amendments would encourage offenders to plead guilty instead of going through a long trial. Amendments allowing plea bargaining were approved by the Parliament on June 2, 2010 and gazetted on June 10.
"This year's Judges Conference will be focused on reviewing the problems where cases are not moving as fast as they should. "We will also be discussing how to overcome delays of cases, postponement problems as well as reviewing the current sentencing policy," Zaki said.
At the conference, Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein, Director of the US Federal Judicial Centre was invited to share solutions to similar problems faced by the courts in the United States.
Some 128 judges of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court are attending the three-day conference aimed at, among others, reviewing all cases and identifying the causes of delay as well as to share experiences.
