Malaysia may amend death penalty: Minister

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7ji2tP8LRymIBQTRNDafykHThERGQH3KjGn-T3hg07t52fXf6xUhCe3Lyy2SRr1QncvFsV9N6dkDiOxXXMviVl2XsbP9RkuVatyyabwk8nNkpMqRcekolIKaOlb7qBulwCNe-F1xpDg/s1600/Malaysia+Airport+Meth+Bust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Meth bust in Malaysia" border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7ji2tP8LRymIBQTRNDafykHThERGQH3KjGn-T3hg07t52fXf6xUhCe3Lyy2SRr1QncvFsV9N6dkDiOxXXMviVl2XsbP9RkuVatyyabwk8nNkpMqRcekolIKaOlb7qBulwCNe-F1xpDg/s400/Malaysia+Airport+Meth+Bust.jpg" title="Meth bust in Malaysia" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meth bust in Malaysia</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Malaysia may amend the death sentence mandatory for 12 criminal offences after government-backed studies showed that the capital punishment had not led to the desired effects.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“There are positive signs in Malaysia and a steady momentum towards possible change in the death penalty legislation,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri told the World Congress Against The Death Penalty in Oslo recently.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Currently, the death penalty is mandatory in Malaysia for 12 offences while 20 other offences are punishable with discretionary death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Murder, drug trafficking, and offences related to security are punishable with death, Nancy said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The minister said that a government-backed study on the death penalty had been completed and a paper was being readied by the Attorney General’s Chambers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The study was conducted by the International Centre For Law and Legal Studies (I-CeLLS).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Nancy said empirical studies showed that the death penalty had not led to “the deterring effect that such a penalty was created.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Although Malaysia is generally in compliance with international standards in so far as the relevant safeguards (on capital punishment) are concerned, Malaysia’s position on death penalty has always been subjected to national and international criticisms.” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/malaysia-may-amend-death-penalty-minister/255386.html" target="_blank">The Tribune</a>, June 22, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

deterrence Drug trafficking Malaysia Mandatory death penalty Malaysia may amend death penalty: Minister

Meth bust in Malaysia Malaysia may amend the death sentence mandatory for 12 criminal offences after government-backed studies showed that t...

Baca selengkapnya »

Malaysia government open to replacing death with life

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde7b6U00kwNAt6_7MWRM4XM37WvGyVeD7H1YPeyZiXu_8b-DCdPloLQFS8v82uVb5VwC64FbPQ3bFKv5zyDJQaNzOSBORJ8-SgKJLzglGPBXsYHHzKpKFIJfTzN3OcXq1YWMoOTQPavg/s1600/Three+Mexican+brothers+sentenced+to+death+in+Malaysia+for+drug+trafficking+in+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Three Mexican brothers sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking in 2012" border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde7b6U00kwNAt6_7MWRM4XM37WvGyVeD7H1YPeyZiXu_8b-DCdPloLQFS8v82uVb5VwC64FbPQ3bFKv5zyDJQaNzOSBORJ8-SgKJLzglGPBXsYHHzKpKFIJfTzN3OcXq1YWMoOTQPavg/s400/Three+Mexican+brothers+sentenced+to+death+in+Malaysia+for+drug+trafficking+in+2012.jpg" title="Three Mexican brothers sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking in 2012" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three Mexican brothers sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking in 2012</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">While the study on whether to keep the death penalty is ongoing, the Government is open to proposals on the matter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri says the Government is considering suggestions to improve the current justice system including whether to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment, as mooted by several parties including the Malaysian Bar.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"I really want to see the amendment to the mandatory death penalty be passed and implemented prior to the 14th general election," she tells Sunday Star.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nancy, who is the minister in charge of law, points out that the study requires a long time as a very comprehensive review needs to be carried out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Government needs to balance the interest of the accused, victim and public at large before making a decision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Whatever decision made will be done in the best interest of the rakyat," she says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Presently, the Attorney-General's Chambers is conducting an in-depth study on the death penalty in Malaysia, studying the legal issues, policies and effectiveness of the punishment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Concurring with Amnesty International's call to abolish the death sentence, the Malaysian Bar hopes that it can be replaced - with life imprisonment instead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bar Council Human Rights Committee co-chairman Andrew Khoo says the Bar has passed several resolutions over the years, calling for capital punishment to be done away with.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We also call upon the Government to repeal all mandatory death sentences, because judges should be given the discretion in sentencing," he urges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He explains that mandatory sentencing robs judges of the opportunity to exercise their discretion to hand down other forms of punishment apart from the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"It is an executive interference in the independence of the judiciary," Khoo adds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He also says the Government should release the findings of the study conducted on the death penalty once it is completed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are some who believe the death sentence should remain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Seri Shaik Daud Md Ismail stresses that Malaysia still needs the current mandatory death penalty for serious offences like drug trafficking and murder.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Things should remain as per status quo. If we abolish the death sentence, there will be more crimes like drug trafficking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Although the death penalty has not reduced such cases in the past, removing it will only cause the number of cases to spike drastically," he opines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shaik Daud, once a prosecutor with the Attorney-General's Chambers, believes the death sentence is a deterrent and doing away with it will only embolden more criminals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He also says that the death penalty should continue to be made mandatory for serious crimes such as terrorism and drug trafficking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"In the past, before the death sentence was made mandatory for drug trafficking, judges had the option of handing down life sentences as an alternative.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"When I was prosecuting in such cases last time, most judges went for the alternative but it wasn't a strong deterrent," he says, adding that the Government later decided to do away with the alternative punishment and imposed the mandatory death sentence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is also more practical for the Government to keep the death sentence, he says.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"If we change all death sentences to life imprisonment, the Government would have to bear the costs of housing and feeding them (the convicted) to look after them for the rest of their lives.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Why should tax payers be burdened by this when the criminals have done heinous crimes?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shaik Daud notes that such prisoners would have time to reflect on their deeds before their execution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Senior lawyer Tan Sri Khalid Ahmad Sulaiman says the death penalty should be used based on circumstances and only if the intent to commit serious crimes especially murder, is proven.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Otherwise, it should be replaced with life imprisonment," says the former Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board chairman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: The Star, June 19, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Abolition Costs deterrence Drug trafficking Malaysia Mandatory death penalty Malaysia government open to replacing death with life

Three Mexican brothers sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking in 2012 While the study on whether to keep the death penalty is o...

Baca selengkapnya »

Indonesia's Govt prepares legal aid for 208 Indonesians facing death penalty abroad

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8YJSLVvHyI-jgOGiZJL1dCty629ltR9ukQLbUQ29tN-dXMBpRcgCUVMfMS0g0YAD7mSKXwuo-5X5EMEOjO4RrlkC7_opECzgUVSTIk_C7fkY1iNxNjGX4lkOxJDja5NEGoQ_4Gbffv4/s1600/Nusa+Kambangan+execution+April+29+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Indonesia: Double standard" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8YJSLVvHyI-jgOGiZJL1dCty629ltR9ukQLbUQ29tN-dXMBpRcgCUVMfMS0g0YAD7mSKXwuo-5X5EMEOjO4RrlkC7_opECzgUVSTIk_C7fkY1iNxNjGX4lkOxJDja5NEGoQ_4Gbffv4/s400/Nusa+Kambangan+execution+April+29+2015.jpg" title="Indonesia: Double standard" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indonesia's double standard</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The government is stepping up its efforts to spare the lives of 208 Indonesians abroad who are facing the death penalty, an official said on Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As of May 2016, 154 of the Indonesian nationals on death row overseas were in Malaysia, with the majority of their cases relating to murder and drug offenses, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said the government would continue to provide legal assistance to Indonesians abroad who are facing trouble with the law, saying there was cause for optimism as data indicated that the lives of 285 death-row inmates had been spared between 2011 until 2016.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, as a preventative measure, Indonesian representatives abroad have recently been conducting intensive legal awareness outreach programs to reduce the number of such cases in the future, he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We will continue to work to spare Indonesians from the death penalty, however, in a way that is in accordance with the applicable laws of the country concerned," he told journalists at the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta on Thursday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Back-to-back cases of Indonesian citizens facing capital punishment overseas have come into the media spotlight recently. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the latest case, migrant worker Daryanti was charged on Thursday in Singapore for allegedly murdering her female employer, Seow Kim Choo, on Tuesday night, as reported by local newspaper The Straits Times.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lawyer Mohamed Muzammil Mohamed has been appointed by the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore to represent Daryanti, Arrmanatha said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The case will be heard in court again in three weeks time, on June 29, and if convicted of murder, Daryanti could face the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Upon being informed of the case, the embassy had immediately contacted the suspect and informed her that they would continue to support her throughout the legal process, he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In another recent case, migrant worker Rita Krisdianti was sentenced to capital punishment by the Penang High Court in Malaysia on May 30 for her alleged involvement in drug smuggling. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The government plans to lodge an appeal of Rita’s verdict, Arrmanatha said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There's still time within the 14-workday deadline following the sentencing to lodge an appeal," he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Indonesia itself implements the death penalty for drug offenses, to the firm objection of human rights activists and foreign countries whose citizens are executed.</div><br />Source: <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/06/10/govt-prepares-legal-aid-for-208-indonesians-facing-death-penalty-abroad.html" target="_blank">Jakarta Post</a>, Liza Yosephine, June 10, 2016<br /><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div>

Drug trafficking Indonesia Malaysia Singapore Indonesia's Govt prepares legal aid for 208 Indonesians facing death penalty abroad

Indonesia's double standard The government is stepping up its efforts to spare the lives of 208 Indonesians abroad who are facing the de...

Baca selengkapnya »

Indonesia: Govt should use human trafficking angle in Rita's defense

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-_g5-Hb1JwaiN8y2NURUzdeAPkhtS8Wc0g7zVoxtP9FL3OvNCyQyKX5ZDBT0BH8vT4oC128U_4SCDjDf2fxCZ3oHUTA9ynyPYAJkjAWVmBRciElxo3iLAZ3FtlWASBwUUnLTTJhRxy4/s1600/Widodo+Mercy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-_g5-Hb1JwaiN8y2NURUzdeAPkhtS8Wc0g7zVoxtP9FL3OvNCyQyKX5ZDBT0BH8vT4oC128U_4SCDjDf2fxCZ3oHUTA9ynyPYAJkjAWVmBRciElxo3iLAZ3FtlWASBwUUnLTTJhRxy4/s400/Widodo+Mercy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The government should use the human-trafficking angle in its defense strategy against the death penalty handed down by a Malaysian court to Rita Krisdianti, an Indonesian migrant worker, even though it would contradict Indonesia’s relentless commitment to the fight against illegal drugs, experts have said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Penang High Court recently sentenced Rita, 27, to death for her alleged involvement in drug smuggling. “There is a strong indication that Rita has been a victim of human trafficking, because there must be some people in Indonesia who put her in that situation and also arranged her trips and documents,” NGO Migrant Care director Anis Hidayah said on Monday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Victims of human trafficking should be assisted and protected as they could give some leads to reveal the mastermind behind the syndication.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hence, Anis called on the government to form a joint team to further investigate Rita’s entrapment in the drug-smuggling syndicate. She said the team could consist of people from the National Police, Manpower Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers ( BNP2TKI ).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Wahyudi Jafar, a researcher at the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), said that Indonesia’s firm stance against drug abuse would complicate the efforts to protect its citizens who had become implicated in drug cases overseas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It is going to be difficult [for Indonesia]. How can you ask other countries not to execute drug suspects if the same execution policy is still being implicated in your home country?” Wahyudi said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hence, there should be consolidation between Indonesia and Malaysia, including lawyers and advocacy groups in both countries, to revoke the death penalty against Rita, he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The Foreign Ministry should actively work on it,” Wahyudi said. “Otherwise, Indonesia’s recent executions of drug suspects could be a boomerang that sacrifices migrant workers overseas.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rita was sentenced to death following her arrest on July 10, 2013, when Malaysian authorities at Penang’s Bayan Lepas Airport found over 4 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in her bag.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She claimed she did not know about the meth, saying the bag belonged to a fellow Indonesian who had managed her travel arrangements from Hong Kong to Penang, via Bangkok and New Delhi. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/06/06/govt-should-use-human-trafficking-angle-in-ritas-defense.html" target="_blank">Jakarta Post</a>, June 6, 2016</div><br /><div><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div>

Drug trafficking Indonesia Malaysia Women Indonesia: Govt should use human trafficking angle in Rita's defense

The government should use the human-trafficking angle in its defense strategy against the death penalty handed down by a Malaysian court to ...

Baca selengkapnya »

Cannes 2016, Un Certain Regard: Apprentice, by Boo Junfeng

<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66JcK_z8Jz9iNyg1D1peC7BMUzlAKT6EeC4MKXdKSU7DMClZi673D5-RzAtmpcVWilfiDIAGLvo2MpILoWP-dfDz1jKf0II0_OdJ8VK5QzeX_8Nut68xT4qb1Ezx8BGe2ONBHle0zjCo/s1600/apprentice+2016+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66JcK_z8Jz9iNyg1D1peC7BMUzlAKT6EeC4MKXdKSU7DMClZi673D5-RzAtmpcVWilfiDIAGLvo2MpILoWP-dfDz1jKf0II0_OdJ8VK5QzeX_8Nut68xT4qb1Ezx8BGe2ONBHle0zjCo/s400/apprentice+2016+poster.jpg" width="282" /></a></div><i>Aiman, a 28-year-old correctional officer, is transferred to a maximum security prison. He strikes up a friendship with Rahim, who is revealed to be the chief executioner of the prison, and one of the world’s most prolific. Can Aiman overcome his conscience and a past that haunts him to become the executioner’s apprentice? </i><br /><br />SINGAPORE: Boo Junfeng’s sophomore feature <i>Apprentice </i>did not come away completely empty-handed when it failed to pick up an award at the recent Cannes Film Festival.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Following its premiere in the progressive Un Certain Regard section of the festival, where it received positive feedback from film critics and a standing ovation, the prison drama also got picked up for distribution in the UK and Ireland.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Arrow Films, a multi-platform distributor of feature films and TV series, picked up the distribution rights to the film in these markets after being “totally struck by director Boo Junfeng’s power and skilful execution”, according to Arrow’s acquisition director Tom Stewart.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is yet another feather in <i>Apprentice</i>’s cap, adding on to a packed international theatrical release schedule that includes Poland, Mexico, Turkey, Greece and Hong Kong. Boo’s tale about the relationship between a young correctional officer and the chief executioner of a prison opened in France on Wednesday and is scheduled to hit Singapore cinemas at the end of this month. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The positive reviews so far have been very helpful.” Boo told Channel NewsAsia. “I'm very happy the film will be seen in cinemas in all these territories. I’m especially thrilled that my friends in the UK will be able to see the film in theatres.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He revealed that a US theatrical release is also being worked on.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Boo is touted as one of Asia’s fastest rising directorial talents. <i>Apprentice </i>is the follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut <i>Sandcastle </i>and is a Singapore/Germany/France/Hong Kong/Qatar co-production. Shot in both Singapore and Australia, the film is an international collaborative effort with French cinematographer Benoit Soler and British production designer James Page.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It stars Malaysian film and stage veteran Wan Hanafi Su and Singaporean newcomer Firdaus Rahman. Singapore auteur Eric Khoo is executive producer and Akanga Film Asia’s Fran Borgia and Peanut Pictures’ Raymond Phathanavirangoon are serving as producers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singaporean-filmmaker-boo/2842340.html" target="_blank">Channel News Asia</a>, June 3, 2016<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AxY3zZCqeTw?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Apprentice"</span></b><br /><br /><b>Who Made It? </b>Boo Junfeng, whose first movie "Sandcastle" appeared at Cannes’ Critics’ Week in 2010.<br /><br /><b>Why It Might Be Great: </b>Junfeng is one of Asia’s fastest rising directorial talents. The morbid prison drama explores the relationship between the prison’s chief and a young correctional officer. The dynamic between the two should be intriguing due to the casting of veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su opposite rookie Fir Rahman. The film is also gathering financial support from countries over the world. <br /><br /><b>What’s It Doing at Cannes?</b> Junfeng’s debut feature "Sandcastle" was the first Singaporean film to be invited to the International Critics’ Week at Cannes. Given that "Apprentice" is his follow up, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise to see his name again.<br /><br /><b>When Can I See It?</b> If you live outside of the U.S., you are in luck, because Luxbox just picked up the film for international distribution. In addition, it has been acquired for French release by Version Originale Condor and for distribution in Hong Kong by Bravos Pictures. No U.S. distribution has been confirmed.<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.indiewire.com/2016/05/2016-cannes-film-festival-what-you-need-to-know-about-these-6-un-certain-regard-titles-291179/" target="_blank">Indiewire</a>, Bryn Gelbart, May 2016<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Singapore death penalty under the spotlight as hangman film stirs emotions at Cannes</span></b></div><br />Before he made his new film about the death penalty, Boo Junfeng sat down to tea with some of Singapore’s retired hangmen.<br /><br />He also talked to the priests and imams who helped condemned prisoners make their last walk to the gallows.<br /><br />And most difficult of all, the young filmmaker spent years trying to reach through the curtain of shame to families who had lost fathers and sons to the hangman’s rope.<br /><br />But it was only after Boo, whose film was to premiere at the Cannes film festival Monday, met one particularly “humane” executioner that he had an epiphany.<br /><br />He realised that no movie has ever dealt with the whole horrible business from the perspective of the man who pulls the lever.<br /><br />“I had already started to write [the film] but after I met the first hangman I couldn’t write for three months. What completely threw me was how much I enjoyed his company,” said Boo.<br /><br />“He was not like I thought. He was likeable, charismatic, grandfatherly jocular and open about what he did. He took pride in the almost caring way he looked after the prisoners trying to make it as humane as he could, and I realised how difficult that was.<br /><br />“He really shook up my ideas and forced me to rethink everything.”<br /><br />So Boo took his film - he toiled over for five years -- one step further.<br /><br />For <i>Apprentice </i>has a shocking twist. It is the story of a young man who ended up learning the executioner’s trade from the man who opened the trapdoor on his own father.<br /><br />More surprising still is the intensity of the almost father-son relationship that develops between the young prison guard and the hangman.<br /><br />“He is in some ways searching for his father,” Boo said. “And in doing that he finds this man. What I was going for was human truth. I didn’t want to make it an activist film.”<br /><br />The death penalty is nevertheless a hot political issue in Singapore and in neighbouring Indonesia, particularly when foreigners have fallen foul of strict anti-drug smuggling laws.<br /><br />The execution of seven foreigners in Bali last year - including two Australians and a mentally ill Brazilian - sparked an international outcry, and several others, including a British woman and a Frenchman, are still on death row there.<br /><br />Boo said he began his research with the book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Once-Jolly-Hangman-Singapore-Justice/dp/1742663737" target="_blank">Once a Jolly Hangman</a></i> which features Darshan Singh, Singapore’s chief executioner for nearly 50 years who once executed 18 men in one day.<br /><br />Its British author Alan Shadrake was arrested the morning after the book’s Singapore launch in 2010 and was held for a month in Changi prison for insulting the country’s judiciary.<br /><br />He had criticised the way he claimed the death penalty was disproportionately applied to the poor, while well-connected criminals and wealthy foreigners escaped the noose.<br /><br />Boo shot the prison scenes in disused prisons in Australia to avoid controversy in the tiny city state, where an estimated 95 per cent of the population still support the death penalty.<br /><br />“It would have been easy to make a film about the death penalty itself, but it’s much bigger than that. I learned so much about the value of human life” from making the movie.<br /><br />Boo, 32, one of a new wave of talented Singapore filmmakers, said his friends who are against the death penalty “may be disappointed by the film”, which is showing in the Certain Regard section at Cannes.<br /><br />“I took myself out of the comfort zone to address the issue from a different point of view. I don’t have a view myself. Because the humanity behind the issue is so much more complex,” [No, it isn't. - DPN] said Boo, whose semi-autobiographical first feature <i>Sandcastle </i>was a hit at the French festival in 2009.<br /><br />“Apprentice took so long because I had so much to learn, so many things were beyond my experience and very few people really knew (about this world)... And unfortunately almost of them are not around” to tell the tale.<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/1945582/singapore-death-penalty-under-spotlight-hangman-film-stirs" target="_blank">South China Morning Post</a>, May 16, 2016<br /><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

Alan Shadrake Art Cinema Film France Malaysia Singapore Cannes 2016, Un Certain Regard: Apprentice, by Boo Junfeng

Aiman, a 28-year-old correctional officer, is transferred to a maximum security prison. He strikes up a friendship with Rahim, who is reveal...

Baca selengkapnya »