He said this in reference to the case of a jobless man who was imprisoned for two weeks for stealing four jars of Nutella.
According to Waytha, the system of justice had failed the man as the sentencing appeared to be disproportionate to the severity of the crime and his own culpability based on his motive to commit the act.
On Dec 22, Mohd Azmi Mohamed Eid was sentenced to 14 days in jail by the Ampang Magistrates Court, and fined RM500 or three months jail in default, for stealing four jars of Nutella chocolate spread worth RM111.96 from a supermarket in Ampang.
Magistrate Mohamad Firdaus Sadina Ali handed him the sentence after he pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing.
Waytha, who is a lawyer, said there seemed to be a bias between how the poor and the rich are treated under the law.
He said instead of meting out such punishments to the poor, a righteous justice system should look at the bigger picture as well as the motive behind certain crimes.
“It is pointless to blame those from the powerless and poverty-stricken community for resorting to petty crimes as a result of their alienation from the main socio-economic development of the nation,” he told FMT.
He also pointed to the case of Shashikumar Selvam who had been serving a 10-year jail sentence for having stolen rice and two cans of sardines, when he died in Kluang Prison in May 2015.
He said the cases put into question the “moral compass” of the country’s criminal justice system.
Waytha also said Azmi’s action had apparently shown that the government’s affirmative action to meet Bumiputera privileges was ineffective.
He said Azmi, despite being a Malay and a Bumiputera, still faced a dilemma to live a decent life.
“How do all these paper policies by the current government actually benefit the public at large when it appears only to benefit those in power and position?” he asked.
Yesterday, lawyer Chan Yen Hui, who is registered with the government-funded National Legal Aid Foundation, also questioned whether the poor and needy have access to justice when they are often unrepresented and given heavy sentences.
Chan had said it appeared that some magistrates were insensitive to the plight of suspected criminals who were not given the opportunity to get a lawyer to mitigate their cases.
“This makes me wonder whether the government and Bar Council-sponsored criminal legal aid schemes are still functioning,” she had said.
Lawyer M Visvanathan said a custodial sentence did more harm than good for Azmi because his family would be temporarily deprived of financial support while he was in detention.
Jail for stealing food case raises questions about justice for the poor
Prison death: Officer tells inquest deceased feared for his life
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2015/05/29/when-justice-fails-the-people/