SHAH ALAM - Daughter of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya, a leading cosmetics entrepreneur who was brutally murdered opined that the government's decision to abolish the mandatory death penalty with a substitute sentence subject to the court's discretion is inappropriate for the victim's family.
Datin Rita Sosilawati believed that the atrocities committed by criminals must be punished severely so that it becomes a lesson to the community.
"As a family member of a victim who was brutally murdered and had been decided by the court, I do not agree with the abolition of the mandatory death penalty. I believe any family members of victims who experienced a similar situation would not agree with this proposal.
"Only we felt the grief, pain, misery and trauma of losing a loved one.
"Especially when the victims were the ones we relied on," she told Sinar Premium.
She added that crimes involving life should also be paid with 'life" let alone if it involved the crime of organised brutal murders such as the case of my beloved mother.
"I personally see the abolition of this sentence leaning towards certain cases only, but hopefully not for criminal cases of a brutal murder that are planned and committed mercilessly.
"Of course, the criminals who commit such atrocities are also aware of the effects and consequences of their evil deeds, but they remain adamant in doing so.
"Only the families of the victims who have lost their loved ones suffer from the consequence of the heinous crime," she said.
Rita said criminal cases could escalate if the mandatory death penalty was abolished since future sentences might not be too severe compared to what the perpetrators did.
"I am confident that the government has studied the proposed abolition before it is implemented, and they certainly have their own reasons.
"Crime will still exist under any circumstances, but it will be more severe if the punishment imposed is not commensurate and does not scare those who intend to commit a crime," she said.
Sosilawati and three men who were reported missing with her since August 30, 2010, were believed to have been brutally murdered where they were beaten, burned and their ashes were dumped into the sea at Pantai Morib, Selangor.
On May 23, 2013, Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir sentenced the four accused to death by hanging after finding them guilty of killing Sosilawati, Kamaruddin Shamsuddin (personal driver), Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim (personal lawyer) and also Noorhisham Mohammad (CIMB bank officer).
Although 12 years have passed, Rita and her family were still traumatised by what happened to her late mother.
"I still feel sad and grief at the thought of the fate that befell my deceased mother and it will always be with me till the end of my life.
"What I described is actually not as bad as what we actually experienced. It is too difficult to express in words. You won't know the pain unless you walk in our shoes,” she said.