Law & Me

ARTICLES OF LAW By BHAG SINGH What the layman perceives to be fair and what is legally correct can sometimes be two different things. WHAT may appear to be fair and just viewed in isolation may not necessarily be so when viewed in the context of legal principles as enshrined in statutes. Those who think that the law equals the individual’s notion of what is generally thought to be fair and just, will be in for a disappointment when such expectations are tested in court against cold legal principles. This happens in different aspects of life. The reality only dawns when the laws are tested against real-life situations that come before the courts. One example of this can be found in an old case in relation to election petitions. Where a document in the context of litigation is to be served on an opponent through publication in a gazette, invariably printed by the government printers, one would hardly think that the individual is to blame or have to bear the consequences ...

BUTTERWORTH: Two women, including an Indonesian, claimed trial at a Sessions Court here to a charge of selling a two-month-old Indonesian baby girl. Ng Yu Wah, 28, from Permatang Rawa near Bukit Mertajam and Lindawati Rizuan, 32, from Taman Pelangi, Bukit Tengah were alleged to have committed the offence at Block W, Taman Pelangi, Bukit Tengah at about 10.30am on June 26. Both women pleaded not guilty when they were jointly charged under Section 14 of the Anti-Human Trafficking Act 2007. If convicted for the offence, they are liable to face a jail term of between three and 20 years and also a fine. DPP Khairul Anuar appeared for the prosecution while both of the accused were unrepresented. Sessions Judge Amernudin Ahmad set bail at RM7,000 for Ng. However, Lindawati was denied bail since she is a foreigner. Ng posted bail. Amernudin fixed August 7 for the case to be mentioned again.

MALACCA: A 31-year-old man was sentenced to three years in jail after admitting he posed as a broadcast journalist to gain entry into an orphanage early this month. Magistrate Muhamad Faizal Ismail meted out the punishment on Zulkifli Atan, from Batu Caves, Selangor yesterday. Earlier, before sentencing, Muhamad took note that Zulkifli had two previous run-ins with the law for cheating, with one resulting in a conviction in Muar. The unrepresented Zulkifli pleaded guilty to the charge in the same court last Friday. He committed the offence by pretending to be an ntv7 journalist on July 3 to gain entry into Rumah Anak-Anak Yatim Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al Haj in Pantai Puteri, Tanjung Kling. He duped orphanage caretaker Maznah Abdol to allow him onto the premises with an eight-man crew on the pretext of covering a media assignment. However, following checks, it was revealed that Zulkifli was not an employee of the television station. The station subsequently lodged a po...