LETTER | House arrest: Prerogative must lie with the criminal justice system

LETTER | It is evident that home detention is being considered to be part of the rehabilitative arm in complementing prison detention within the criminal justice system.

Although it is a progressive step towards the approach to reform, rehabilitating the criminal mind and the paradigm of giving a second chance to offenders who deserve it, we must also be cautious that this approach does not embolden hardcore dangerous criminals to become more aggressive and violent during the commission of crime.

This includes white-collar crime that involves massive monetary and asset losses focusing in particular, on those in positions of great trust.

These criminals must always face and feel the full force of the rule of law to act as an effective deterrent at all times to others.

It is opined that if and when this new rehabilitative approach is implemented, the discretion of such home detentions must lie within the judicial arm of the criminal justice system.

The executive must not have any major role in any case and must like all other parties outside the criminal justice system, put forward deserving cases to the public prosecutor.

The investigative and prosecutorial arms must have the major significant role in the assessment of whether home detention is appropriate.

Separate AG and PP’s role

It is also imperative that before the implementation of the said law, the public prosecutor must become an independent body separate from the Attorney General's Chambers.

The system must strive to minimise socio-political pressure at any stage. This new equation is imperative if we are to ensure that the proposed new law will not be abused by any party.

We are on a threshold of redefining how we handle reform of those convicted of crimes and it must be thought out carefully before enacting such laws.

More importantly, such reformative laws do not send the wrong message to society which might encourage and inspire the belief that crime pays.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.