As such, the office of the chief registrar of the Federal Court has informed all magistrates and Sessions Court judges to also consider the problem of overcrowding in jails.

“Apart from considering sentences provided under existing laws, the risk of the Covid-19 being spread in prisons must also be taken into account,” the office said in a statement.

The statement confirmed that the judiciary had received a letter from Prisons director-general Zulkifli Omar, who had proposed that judges utilise the Offenders Compulsory Attendance Act 1954 to order MCO offenders to do compulsory community work instead of sending them to jail.

Zulkifli, in a letter to the chief registrar of the Federal Court Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh, said the move was to avert any possibility of the virus being spread among inmates and staff.

He said new prisoners would further add to the congestion in jails and the department also feared that the virus could spread as the health status of the newcomers was not determined.

He said social distancing could not be enforced and this posed a threat to existing inmates and prison staff.

Violating the MCO is punishable with up to six months in jail, or a fine up to RM1,000, or both.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Bar president Salim Bashir said Tengku Maimun’s reminder to her subordinates was timely as trial judges have the discretion to impose sentences, based on existing laws

“The top judge appears to drive home the point that judges must mete out punishment based on a case-to-case basis or the circumstances of the case,” he added.

Salim said the courts could impose a minimal fine, a day’s jail or bind them over for good behaviour.

Alternatively, he said judges could order offenders to perform community service under the law, as proposed by Zulkifli, after the national shutdown had been lifted and it was safe for them to do so.

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