KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 — Authorities must strive to learn what drives people to commit crime, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said after two suspects in the killing of a nine-month-old in Selangor were found to be drug users.
Juxtaposed with her meeting with de facto law minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong about the death penalty yesterday, Dr Wan Azizah said it was clear that capital punishment was not an effective damper to crime, especially drug-related offences.
“I have discussed with Liew where we found that mandatory death sentence on drug offences does not act as a deterrent from drug abuse and many are imprisoned for such offences.
“Many crimes have also been committed due to being under the influence of drugs, including that of the baby. Therefore, we have to look at the root cause and how to resolve the matter at hand,” she told reporters at the Parliament lobby here, today.
Dr Wan Azizah said she also met with the federal police's Sexual, Women, and Child Investigations Division (D11), which she said informed her that drug use was among leading gateways to sexual crimes.
While expressing concern over the matter, she said other solutions beyond imprisonment and hanging must be explored to find a viable answer to the problem.
“This issue is complex and we have to look into the matter deeply as it involves the mandatory death sentence.
“Of course it was a despicable crime, but what was the root cause? It is drugs,” she said.
Yesterday, Dr Wan Azizah said the government will reconsider abolishing the mandatory death sentence for those convicted of murder.
Prior to that, Parliament was told that the Cabinet has decided to do away with the capital punishment for 33 crimes, including murder.
