Malaysia - High Court reverses decision on ‘Datin’, to serve 8 years in jail starting today

SHAH ALAM: The High Court here reversed the punishment meted out by the Sessions Court to a woman, described as a “Datin”, who had physically abused her maid.

Rozita Mohamad Ali, 44, will now have to serve an eight-year jail sentence for causing grievous hurt to her domestic helper Suyanti Sutrinso, 21, at a house in Mutiara Damansara on June 21, 2016.

Judge Datuk Seri Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah also rejected the defence counsel's plea for a stay of execution and ordered Rozita to serve her sentence beginning Thursday (March 29).

Rozita's defence counsel Haniff Khatri Abdulla said his client was willing to have her passport impounded and to adhere to any other additional conditions imposed.

Dressed in black from head to toe, Rozita appeared calm and had an in-depth discussion with her platoon of lawyers led by Haniff Khatri.

Before she was handcuffed and led out of the court, she pinned part of her headscarf to cover the lower part of her face.

Rozita was initially charged under Section 307 of the Penal Code with attempted murder, which was later amended to Section 326 of the Penal Code for causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means.

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Dead penalty was better for this bastard

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She had pleaded guilty to the charge.

She had used a kitchen knife, a steel mop and an umbrella to attack her maid Suyanti at a house in Mutiara Damansara on June 21, 2016.

She was bound over for five years on a good behaviour bond of RM20,000 on March 15 by Sessions Court judge Mohammed Mokhzani Mokhtar.

However, the lenient sentence was criticised by members of the public who demanded she be duly dealt with for abusing Suyanti.

Source - TheNation

#Singapore - Female President Elected without an election. What a joke.

Singapore - An establishment stalwart was named Singapore's first female president Wednesday but the milestone was overshadowed by criticism her selection was undemocratic after she was handed the job without a vote.

    Halimah Yacob, a former speaker of parliament from the Muslim Malay minority, did not have to face an election for the largely ceremonial post originally due this month after authorities decided her rivals did not meet strict eligibility criteria.

    It was not the first time in the affluent city-state -- which is tightly controlled and has been ruled by the same party for decades -- that the government has disqualified candidates for the presidency, making an election unnecessary.

    But there was already unease about the process as it was the first time that the presidency had been reserved for a particular ethnic group, in this case the Malay community, and the decision to hand her the job without a vote added to anger.

    Social media was abuzz with criticism as Halimah, a bespectacled 63-year-old who wears a headscarf, was formally announced as the president-elect, with Facebook user Pat Eng writing: "Elected without an election. What a joke."

    "I will call her President Select from now on," said Joel Kong on the networking site, while some posts were marked with the hashtag #NotMyPresident -- echoing the message used by upset Americans after the election of President Donald Trump.

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Halimah, a member of parliament for the ruling People's Action Party for nearly two decades before resigning to contest the presidency, tackled the doubts about the selection process in a speech to a cheering crowd after she was named president-elect.

 

    "I'm a president for everyone. Although there's no election, my commitment to serve you remains the same," she said.

    Authorities had decided to allow only candidates from the Malay community to put themselves forward for the presidency, a bid to foster harmony in the city-state of 5.5 million people which is dominated by ethnic Chinese.

    Singapore's head of state has limited powers, including vetoing senior official appointments, but an establishment figure has always held the role and there are rarely tensions with the government. //AFP