DPM: Decision on death penalty to be made after looking at several factors

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will be looking at the root cause of drug-related crimes before making a decision on abolishing the death penalty, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today.

Dr Wan Azizah said she met with Minister with the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong to discuss laws and provisions on the mandatory death sentence which involved drug abuse and if there were effective deterrents to such crimes.

“There are many crimes that involve drugs including the recent case involving the death of an 11-month-old baby.

“So we have to identify the root cause and we have to look at it from various angles on how to solve the problem,” said Dr Wan Azizah to reporters at the parliament lobby.

On Friday, 11-month-old Nur Muazara Ulfa Moh­ammad Zainal died after spending two days at Serdang Hospital in critical condition after she being allegedly physically and sexually abuse by the babysitter’s husband.

The government is now in the midst of reviewing the death penalty. A DAP lawmaker had also said that the death penalty should be allowed in murder cases which involve children.

Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh said it was debatable if the death penalty should be completely abolished, and proposed that it be retained in cases of murder, especially of children.

The Women, Family and Community Development Minister had also talked to the police to discuss similar crime and drug related cases.

“I talked to Bukit Aman Sexual, Women and Child Investigations Division (D11) and they revealed that sexual crime related cases mostly involved drug abuse rather than an addiction problem.

“So, as I have mentioned previously, it is a despicable crime. As you know, the root cause is drugs.

“It is not something that is easy, but a complex issue. We have to look at the matter deeply as it involves the death penalty,” she said.

Asked to comment on calls not to abolish the death penalty in cases involving murder with intent to kill, Dr Wan Azizah said a careful study needed to be carried out.

“The Cabinet has yet to decide although we know the mandatory death sentence had been abolished in countries such as Australia.

“We are thinking how to address the issue,” she said.