The High Court dismissed a man's appeal for the reduction of his imprisonment sentence yesterday, which was imposed for bribing two Customs officers and cited his ailments to mitigate the punishment.

Tan Hie Kiong bribed a Customs officer at the 'old office' of the Kuala Lurah Control Post just before noon on September 10, 2015 to not take action against Tan for an alleged violation of the illegal importation of goods and bribing another Customs officer to dispose of the illegally imported goods, so as to avoid from action being taken.

Tan was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment and filed an appeal against it.

The High Court received the application late, however, and considered the success in the appeal itself.

Tan cited that he suffers from osteoarthritis and had knee surgery last year, which he needs proper care for whilst in prison.

Chief Justice Dato Seri Paduka Haji Kifrawi bin Dato Paduka Haji Kifli was informed by Prosecuting Officer Zuraidah Sidek that that there is ample space for the defendant to perform his routine physiotherapy in the prison compound, and that there is nothing exceptional in his health condition to warrant a reduction in the sentence.

The Chief Justice concluded that an accused's ill health should not be treated as a mitigating factor, except for exceptional circumstances when judicial mercy may be exercised.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

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