It's worse than just a slap. Tales by an unknown blogger. No 77

1. If the malayman who slapped a Chinaman (unlawful )for eating in public(lawful), on account of a badly written charge, the fault is with the state legal advisors office.

2. Investigate the person who wrote the charge. That person may have deliberately written a fuzzy report so as to 'restraint' the judge.

3. Even better, transfer the SLA for not ' proofing ' the charge before it's sent out.

4. The charge badly written, would force the judge(who interprets the law and finds accordingly) to have no choice but to grant a DNAA. A DNAA is actually a guilty verdict but for some technical glitches.

5. Now we see it, through the eyes of reasonable men, a DNAA in truth generally is a guilty verdict .

6. Hence those who were given DNAAs have no reasons to gloat. They are really guilty .

7. In the slapping case, obviously the judge does not believe in judicial activism ( being unelected) nor does he have the urge to consider policy considerations nor apply a bit of common sense.

8. Some policy ramifications include:-

•  result in copycat slapping elsewhere.
• fears that things worse than slapping will occur.
• gives impression that people can take law in own hands.
• embolden religious fanatics and religious vigilantes.
• others live in constant fears.
• energise the xenophobic supremacists to pick a fight.

9. For these reasons, the executive branch must interfere to correct the wrongs.

10. Now let's discuss about the assailant. He's called assailant because he assaults, doesn't he? Or defendant (sedap sikit dengar).

11. I think in law, there's a concept called eggshell skull rule(hey, I like the novelty term, eggshell skull rule). The defendant takes the victim as he is.

12. To me la, the reverse is also true. We must also treat the assailant as he is .

13. That means, we ignore whether assailant has got personality disorders, whether he got pressures at home, whether he didn't get his ration the previous night etc. He must be held accountable.

14. Don't get sentimental. Oh he's 65 years young, he's Malay, a fasting Muslim, he wears a robe probably UMNO some more and so on.

15. These shouldn't be treated as mitigating and ameliorating factors

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The slapping incident. Some preliminary thoughts. Tales by an unknown blogger. No. 76

1. When writing "jungle book", Rudyard Kipling said strange things happened in the jungles of India. In our country, stranger things happened in the legal jungle.

2. In the slapping case , the judge ruled that the 65 years old Malay man, fasting, a Muslim wearing a robe be given a DNAA.

3. Then it was reported that the AGC countermanded this ruling by saying ,after a few glitches, the DNAA is rescinded.

4. Boleh itu maciam kah?

5. Pardon my ignorance, but I thought as many do, that the judge is the final arbiter in cases brought before him or her.

6. If what is reported is true , then the conduct of the AGC tantamounts to usurping the authority of the court. This maybe grounds for contempt of court or any other charges lawyers can creatively come out with.

7. So which is which? That's why I say stranger things can happen in the legal jungle.

8. If it's true the AGC said that, it reflects badly on the quality of people in the AGC.

9. This is what happens if you have numbskulls in the AGC. We must demand now that the AG must be a 1st class holder and the lawyers in the AGC must be at least of 2nd upper material.

10. Otherwise statements like that issued by the AGC, which are usurpive and contempt of court in nature, will be the norm of an imbecilic AGC.

11. What the AGC said maybe grounds for contempt of court or maybe not. The case is over and not ongoing. But its certainly usurpive in nature.

12. I would have thought, going through the process, if the AGC is not happy with the decision of the court of 1st instance, it can appeal to the Appeal Court. If still not happy, it can go the Federal Court

13. Or was the response by the AGC, a knee jerk response of the AGC to the PM's condemnation of the slapping incident?

14. Note that the PM did not dispute the decision of the court( that's the business of the AGC or the DA) but condemned the slapping incident.

15. That proves my point . The legislature and especially the executive are the custodians of public policy, the greater good, public interests and keeper of the People's conscience. At times he must interfere in judicial decisions when they are patently wrong and go against public interest.

16. I am not going off tangent to discuss the issue of judicial activism vs judicial restraint. Let lawyers argue about that

17. The judge in this particular case may have directed his mind to considering of extraneous factors that have got nothing to do with a case of assault and causing bodily harm.

18. Or the charges were badly written, that the judge had no choice but to give a DNAA.

19. If no. 18 is the case, then we come back to the points in para 9. I think this point was also raised by lee kuan yew , when he cited an example of a lawyer with 4 O- levels with a lawyer with 10 0-levels.

20. With the four O-levels lawyer, you've got to explain things to him several times. Similarly to make sense of what he wrote, one has to read his material over and over again

21. If that were the case, reflected in the charges he wrote, he should be given the sack. And never to practise.

22. Whatever it is, the assailant as of now, got a DNAA. We are not certain if he has been recharged. Again that's a whammy for the DA and the AGC.

23. If he got a DNAA it's disgusting. Raises repugnance, shock, distrust in the judiciary and our law deserves public opprobrium.

24. Imagine a person who hears voices in his head giving him a religious license to do as he pleases, a self appointed vigilante and a robed crusader going around roughing up people. Such a chap should be locked up in a mental institution.

25. I think it was Sukarno, who understood the psychology of the average Indonesian. Give the average Indonesian, a uniform and he transforms into a beast!

26. Here, a 65 year young man, a Malay, Muslim , fasting wearing a robe, the defacto uniform of the seemingly religious, slapping a Chinese, non Muslim and therefore not fasting. As sir Thomas Moore asked, on whose authority?

27. He takes the law into his own hands. Push it to the extremes. Women with tight clothing or arousing him can be molested, men with no moustache and bard can be hurt and so on

28. Public policy demands he be punished accordingly and not given a suspended sentence on account of some technical glitches.

29. I read somewhere on FB, some joker asked why the fuss about the slapping. Move on.

30. That's typical of the yak yak yay crowd. Treat everything lightly and have fun.

31. Stealing is fun, lying is, mocking the judiciary is fun, slapping other people causing them bodily harm is fun.

32. We don't move on mappilay, the man must be taught accountability. Every action must be met with equal reaction. Having made the bed, he must now lay on it!

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