Man hopes for freedom after 20 years on death row, says lawyer
Published on: Friday, November 10, 2023
By:
FMT, V Anbalagan
The Federal Court will hear a total of 25 review applications to commute death sentences next week. The apex court had received 924 applications as of Oct 31.
PUTRAJAYA: A man on death row will have the opportunity to plead for his sentence to be commuted to a jail term when the Federal Court’s review panel sits next week.
The petition from Teh Hock Leong, who has been on death row for the past 20 years, is the first of 25 cases fixed for review.
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The Federal Court had previously dismissed their final appeals for offences that carry the mandatory death penalty or imprisonment for their natural life.
It will be a historic moment as the apex court begins hearing 11 revision applications on Tuesday, followed by another 14 on Thursday.
The applications were filed under Revision of the Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023.
Teh was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on June 27, 1999 for trafficking 580.3g of methamphetamine.
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He was then remanded in prison as bail was not allowed for anyone accused of an offence that carried the death sentence, pending the outcome of their trial.
On Sept 15, 2003, the Shah Alam Court High convicted Teh and imposed the mandatory death sentence on him.
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Teh, who is married to a Thai national, failed in his final appeal before the Federal Court on Oct 23, 2009.
“The proverbial sword of Damocles is indeed true for this man. The taste of death has been hanging over him since his conviction 20 years ago.
“He has been behind bars for 24 years,” his lawyer Guok Ngek Seng said.
The lawyer, who will appear with counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik on Tuesday, hopes to be able to convince the panel to convert the death penalty to a jail term under the circumstances of Teh’s case.
The law abolishing the mandatory death penalty was passed by Parliament earlier this year and came into force on July 4. It gives judges the option to impose either capital punishment or a custodial sentence.
In the case of a drug trafficker, the court could impose life imprisonment of up to 30 years and a minimum of 12 strokes of the rotan for male convicts below 50 years of age.
Teh may even walk out of court a free man if his review is allowed and the maximum jail term of 30 years is imposed, as prisoners are given a one-third remission on their sentence for good behaviour, Guok said.
He will also be spared whipping as he is 52 years old now.
“Teh’s family is hopeful that with the once in a lifetime opportunity given, he will turn over a new leaf.
“His family members have been supportive and will try their level best to assist him,” Guok added.
Earlier this week, deputy law and institutional reform minister Ramkarpal Singh told the Dewan Rakyat that the Federal Court has received 924 review applications as of Oct 31.
He said about RM12 million had been set aside by the government to finance the process, including for legal aid.
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