MALAYSIA: 'ALLOW THOSE ON DEATH ROW EARLY APPEALS'

the Malaysian Bar Council wants the judiciary to fast track the appeals of convicted prisoners on Death Row. Its Criminal Law Practice Committee chairman, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, said it was inhumane for such prisoners to remain in solitary confinement for a long period. "It amounts to additional punishment as prisoners do not know the finality of their appeals." Hisyam said this in response two men, M. Rajendran, 43, and G. Krishna Rao, 39, who declared that they would not seek clemency from the Pardons Board as they had been on Death Row for almost 10 years. Rao said the long wait had affected him, his family and relatives. Veteran lawyer and MP for Bukit Gelugor Karpal Singh said the Supreme Court in 1976 instructed authorities that those facing capital punishment should be accorded a speedy trial.