Malaysia to end mandatory death penalty

The sun sets behind the Petronas Twin Towers, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 7, 2022. (Photo: Reuters)

Malaysia has agreed to abolish the mandatory death penalty and give judges the discretion to mete out other punishments to offenders in what were previously capital crimes, three years after a previous government made the same decision.

The cabinet also agreed on further research on the proposal to replace the death sentences for some offenses, Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said in a statement on Friday.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had planned to present to parliament a bill to end the mandatory death penalty in March 2020, but his government collapsed before that could happen.

Several crimes, including murder, drug trafficking and terrorism, are currently punishable by death in the Southeast Asian nation.

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More than two-thirds of nations have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice, according to Amnesty International.