The Federal Court has denied seven prisoners leave to challenge their indefinite detention at the ruler’s pleasure, affirming the constitutionality of the sentence for serious juvenile crimes.
PUTRAJAYA: A five-member Federal Court bench has unanimously denied leave to seven prisoners seeking a full review of their indefinite detention at the pleasure of the ruler for serious crimes committed during their youth.
Led by Chief Justice Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, the bench ruled the applicants failed to meet the threshold required under Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court 1995.
Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, who delivered the judgment, stated that no special circumstances existed to justify granting the applications for review.
He affirmed that the applicants’ constitutional rights to life and equality before the law under Articles 5 and 8 had not been violated by their sentences.
Justice Sequerah explained that Section 97 of the Child Act 2001 lawfully mandates detention at the ruler’s pleasure for child offenders convicted of serious crimes like murder, drug trafficking, or kidnapping.
He noted that such detention constitutes valid custody under the law following a proper trial and a sentence passed in accordance with valid legislation.
The court also found that the applicants had not exhausted alternative remedies available to them for potential early release.
These remedies include provisions under the Child Act 2001, the Prison Regulations 2000, and the constitutional power of pardon, which offer a real chance for release through yearly recommendations by the Board of Visiting Justices.
Justice Sequerah dismissed arguments that recent legislative changes to death penalty laws had altered the applicants’ legal position to their disadvantage.
He stated that the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 and a related sentencing revision act changed nothing regarding the applicants’ equal rights before the law.
The court further ruled that decisions made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Rulers, and the Pardons Board under Article 42 of the Federal Constitution are non-justiciable and cannot be subject to judicial review.
The seven prisoners, now aged between 27 and 36, were convicted of murder, kidnapping, and drug trafficking offences committed during their teenage years.
They had contended that legal changes required a review of their sentences, claiming their continued indefinite detention was a miscarriage of justice and unconstitutional.
One applicant, a Vietnamese national, has been incarcerated for nearly a decade following his arrest in February 2015 when he was just 17 years old.
Deputy public prosecutors Datuk Seri Saiful Edris Zainuddin, Afzainizam Abdul Aziz, Noor Farhana Adham, and Arif Aizuddin Masrom appeared for the prosecution.
The applicants were represented by lawyers Abdul Rashid Ismail, Khaizan Sharizad Ab Razak, and Jacqueline Hannah Albert.
