PUTRAJAYA: The plea bargaining system, where an accused pleads guilty to the charge to get a lighter sentence, does not apply to sexual offences, said Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail yesterday.
In his speech at the opening of the 2012 Legal Year here, he asserted that it also did not apply to offences against children and offenders who had previous convictions.
Abdul Gani said the amendment to Section 172D of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) clarified that the lighter sentence the court is empowered to impose in a plea bargaining, was only in respect of imprisonment and did not extend to offences punishable with just a fine or life imprisonment.
He said the new section 172G of the CPC, was introduced to allow an accused who pleads guilty at any time before the commencement of his trial to be sentenced in accordance with section 172D, even if he did not apply for plea bargaining.
The system passed by Parliament in June 2010, would assist in controlling the backlog of cases, including capital punishment cases, where the prosecution could apply for plea bargaining before the trial commenced. It was reported that under the system, an accused who pleaded guilty to a charge would enjoy a 50 per cent reduction of the maximum sentence.
Abdul Gani added that this year will also see the full implementation of certain pre-trial processes initiated in 2010 to expedite the dispensation of criminal justice. He said pre-trial conferences, case management and plea bargaining had been fine-tuned through further amendments to the CPC in 2011, which were drafted in consultation with the judiciary and Bar Council.
After the event, Abdul Gani evaded questions from reporters as to whether the AG’s Chambers would file an appeal against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal of a sodomy charge. “You know, this is the weekend and yesterday is Saturday and with Chinese New Year approaching soon, I would like to go fishing,” said Abdul Gani walking alongside the reporters. On Jan 9, High Court Judge Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah acquitted and discharged Anwar from the charge of sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Thereafter, Solicitor-General II Datuk Mohamed Yusof Zainal Abiden, who led the prosecution team, had recommended an appeal. The prosecution has 14 days from the date of ruling to file the notice of appeal and due to the coming holidays, the last day would be on Jan 25. — Bernama