the post is inspired from the following case :
25 year old Abdul Nasir faced the death penalty not once, but
twice, for different charges. Both times he managed to escape the
gallows. But because of this case, the
Court of Appeal ruled that in future, all life-imprisonment terms
will mean a person will be jailed for the duration of his natural
life. Before this, a life-imprisonment term was interpreted
as a 20 year jail sentence.
Japanese tourists, Isae Fujii, 49 and Miyoko Takishita, 55 had just
arrived at the Oriental Hotel. They had expected to enjoy
themselves in Singapore which was known for a low crime rate.
After they collected their keys, they went up to their room on the
9th floor. Little would they expect 2 men to rush in after them.
Each man attacked one woman. The tourists were smaller in size and
were not in any position to resist. The robbers grabbed their money
and valuables and ran off.
Mdm Isae Fujii, 25, suffered serious facial injuries and died.
Forensic pathologists said that Fujii suffered suffocation when
pieces of bone were choked in her throat. They said she must have
been stamped in the face. Her roommate survived with minor injuries
because she feigned unconscious during the attack. Less than an
hour after touching down, Miss Fujii lost her life in
Singapore.
Abdul Nasir was the person accused of causing Fujiis death while
Abdul Rahman was the one who attacked her room-mate. They were
unemployed and had gone to the Oriental to look for jobs. When they
chanced upon the Japanese tourists in the lobby, they hatched a
plan to rob them. Nasir said he hit Fujiis nose and she fell,
after which he slipped and stepped on her face accidentally.
Nasir was eventually acquitted of murder but was found guilty of
committing robbery with hurt and was sentenced to 18 years
imprisonment and 18 strokes of the cane. The court found that it
was probable for Nasir, at a height of 1.8m and weight of 76kg, to
have caused Isaes death with an accidental fall.
Even in remand, Abdul managed to commit another offence to face a
possible death penalty again. Together with another cellmate, Low
Theng Gee, 30, he overpowered 2 prison officers and held them
hostage to make demands for a car, two guns and eight bullets.
Their attempted escape was foiled when the Special Tactics and
Rescue Team stormed the lock-up and freed the hostages.
Nasir was sentenced to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane
for the charge of kidnapping two police officers. The sentence
would begin after his 18-year jail term. This meant another 20
years on top of the previous 18 years sentence.
He appealed the sentence and the consequence is a significant
change in Singapores legal system. Following that two prosecutors
made submissions before the Court of Appeal suggesting that a
sentence of life imprisonment must mean imprisonment for the rest
of a convicted persons natural life. A month later, in a Landmark
Ruling, the Court of Appeal declared that this should be so.
[However, the life term for Nasir would still be 20 years because
the new ruling was made after he was convicted
]
