PETALING JAYA: The Federal Court has rejected the attempts by 19 death row inmates to commute their sentences, said Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Law and Institutional Reforms minister said the Federal Court dismissed 19 review applications from 474 applications which have been completely reviewed so far to commute the death sentences.
“The death sentences were retained for those who were involved with charges involving the murder of more than one victim or involving the murder of children,” she stated in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat, today.
Responding to a question posed by Syerleena Abdul Rashid (PH-Bukit Bendera) on how many death sentences were being reviewed by the Federal Court so far, Azalina said that a total of 936 review applications have been filed by convicts and are in the midst of being reviewed.
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On July 4, last year, the Abolition of the Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 came into force, affecting 11 offences, which previously carried the mandatory death sentences.
Under the Review of Death Penalty and Life Imprisonment Act 2023 (Federal Court Temporary Jurisdiction), death row inmates have 90 days to seek a review of their sentence by the Federal Court.
The Federal Court can revise death sentences and substitute them with life imprisonment – between 30 and 40 years – and between six and 12 strokes of the rotan, depending on the crime.
However, the death penalty can still be meted out, according to the court’s discretion for offences such as murder, terrorist acts and hostage-taking.
Previous attempts to abolish the mandatory death penalty had been unsuccessful, although a moratorium on hangings has been in place since 2018 involving some 1,300 death row inmates.
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