Courts do make mistake - and a person could have been hung to death. Thankfully, in this case, the Court of Appeal managed to correct the mistake...
Arrested in 2016, in early 2020 sentenced to death, and in October 2020, Court of Appeal not just changed the sentence BUT ACQUITTED him of all 5 charges and he was FREE
'...Beh had been sentenced to death by the Singapore High Court in early 2020, but the death penalty was overturned in October when his appeal was accepted by a three-judge panel.
“I was once sentenced to death by hanging. Only those on death row will know what they go through and understand the feeling of counting the days until that time arrives.'
Mistakes can happen - sometimes it is caused by police, law enforcement officers, lawyers and even judges...and that is exactly a GOOD REASON why death penalty must be abolished. We do not want the RISK of an innocent or an undeserving criminal being sentenced to death..
Sometimes the Court of Appeal and/or the Federal Court catches it - and justice is done. Sometimes, everyone may not realize the mistake..
Sometimes, it is the lawyers - some may be able raise all relevant facts and points, some may miss it. Not everyone can afford good lawyers ...or are lucky to appoint good lawyers...A lot of human factors that can result in miscarriage of justice..
52 months in detention...months on death row...Don't you think that is JUST for such persons to be compensated? We need to put in place a CRIMINAL COMPENSATION SYSTEM that will compensate automatically such persons - without they having to take a separate civil case to try and get compensation..
Freedom is like heaven, says Malaysian freed of the gallows
SINGAPORE: “I woke up this morning and my hands were shaking,” said Beh Chew Boo, a Malaysian who has been spared the gallows after he was acquitted of five charges of bringing drugs to Singapore.
The 38-year-old man from Penang, when met on the second day of his release, admitted that he had yet to accept the reality that he had been acquitted of all the charges. He was a free man after spending four years behind bars.
Beh had been sentenced to death by the Singapore High Court in early 2020, but the death penalty was overturned in October when his appeal was accepted by a three-judge panel.
On March 2, the same panel of judges — Sundaresh Menon, Tay Yong Kwang and Steven Chong — also set aside the prosecution’s application to charge Beh with four lighter offences. The panel made a 2-1 decision in Beh’s favour.
“For more than four years, I slept in prison but last night I was in a hotel bed. It’s like this,” he said, describing the feeling inside him as being one of “heaven on earth”.
The jovial father of one never stopped expressing his appreciation for his lawyer, who is also helping to manage the documentation involved for his return trip home.
Wong Siew Hong provided temporary accommodation for Beh in a hotel, clothing as well as expenses until all arrangements and documentation for his return were completed.
Asked if he felt relieved, Beh did not answer directly but said he now knows what it means to be waiting for death.
“I was once sentenced to death by hanging. Only those on death row will know what they go through and understand the feeling of counting the days until that time arrives.
“Death will definitely happen to all of us even outside the prison, but then you do not know when.”
Asked about his plans after he returns to Penang, Beh admitted that he felt very “awkward”, especially about the changes in technology after being locked up in prison for about 52 months.
“There have been so many changes. I feel like I’m in another world. Some cashiers give me strange looks when I make cash payments. They ask if I have a card,” said Beh.
“I also need to adapt to all the rules related to Covid-19,” he said, while asking the writer about the latest situation in Malaysia.
Beh was arrested at the Woodlands checkpoint in October 2016 for allegedly trying to bring in about 500g of methamphetamine from Malaysia.
He had entered the republic on a motorcycle, registered in Malaysia, belonging to his friend.
Beh, in his defence, had claimed that he did not know there were drugs in the motorcycle’s storage compartment.
He is expected to return to his hometown in Batu Kawan, Penang, on Thursday. - FMT News, 7/3/2021
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