Zaki: Don’t delay hearings, judgments

(NST) PUTRAJAYA: Judges have been reminded to expedite hearings and provide written grounds of judgment soon after the conclusion of a trial, especially in cases involving the death penalty.

Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi, in giving the reminder, said this was because those with capital punishment convictions, as of right could appeal up to the apex court.

"There is no reason why trial judges shouldn't write their grounds even before delivering their decision. It is not like other cases where there may not be an appeal."

On the other hand, he said, it would be against public interest to let off a person when there was no doubt that he had committed the offence even though there had been a delay.

"Delay, per se, cannot be construed as a miscarriage of justice. It depends on the facts of each case," he said in his remarks yesterday in which the Federal Court unanimously dismissed an appeal by three men against their conviction by the lower courts for trafficking in 50.6kg of ganja.

He said it was unfortunate the trial judge took four years and five months to decide to call for defence. However, he said, "on the facts of this case," the trial judge, in calling for the defence, had not caused any injustice.

"We must, however, remind all trial judges that this case is not to be taken as a precedent to take much time to decide and write their grounds of judgment."

The three men, in their grounds of appeal, said the delay had prejudiced them. They also claimed this resulted in them no longer having the confidence to give their statements under oath as they might have forgotten part of the evidence and were also unable to locate witnesses to support their defence.

Zaki said delay, whether in commencing a case, calling for defence, making the decision at the end of the trial or writing out grounds of judgment, may cause injustice.

"It is an act which is frowned upon and detested by everyone, including the appellate courts," he said, adding that extreme delay could be damaging to the prosecution and the defence.

The chief justice said he, together with the court of of appeal president, the chief judges of Malaya, and Sabah and Sarawak, were closely monitoring the situation.

"Steps are being taken to speed up the dispensation of justice."

Mohd Junaidi Kassin, Mohd Salleh Yunos, both 38, and Ghazalee Kassim, 39, were convicted of the offence in front of a hotel car park in Johor Baru on April 29, 2001.

In July 2002, the trial judge reserved judgment at the end of the prosecution's case and called for the defence in December 2006 — after a lapse of four years and five months.

The High Court in Johor Baru then found the three men guilty and sentenced them to death in January 2007.

The Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal in May last year, and the Federal Court on a final appeal, heard their matter last month.

Besides Zaki, the other Federal court judges who heard the appeal were Datuk Hashim Yusoff and Datuk Wira Mohd Ghazali MohdYusoff.