Jail is no answer

A woman has been sentenced to one month in prison by a magistrate’s court in Kota Baru for smoking outside a supermarket two years ago, according to a story in The New Straits Times.

Magistrate Izzudin Mohd Shukri handed down the sentence after Nor Faezah Hamzah, 34, failed to pay a RM1,000 fine imposed on her earlier.

She was charged under a regulation that provides for a fine of up to RM10,000 and or a jail term of up to two years.

An assistant health and environment officer and an assistant public health officer were said to have seen the woman smoking a cigarette at the supermarket’s parking lot. They took the cigarette from her and sent it to the state Chemistry Department where it was analyzed and found to contain tobacco.

The accused, who was unrepresented in court, asked that her term of imprisonment start from the date she was arrested. “I request for a lighter sentence as I have to take care of my 16-year-old child,” she said.

However, prosecution officer Mohd Nor Hussin, from the state Health Department, requested a stiffer penalty to deter the accused and members of the public from committing the same offence.