LAW 501:

CRIMINAL LAW 1

1. HUSNUL AFIF 2016239206

2. KAMARUL AZIM MUHAIMI 2016239444

 ARE ALL IMMORAL
CONDUCTS CRIMES?

EXPLAIN.
 DEFINITION OF CRIME
Definition of crime
Any illegal act, omission or event that was specified by the Penal Code
An action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable
by law.
A) Conduct Crime
- simply have something to do that prohibited by law ( end result is not important)
B) Result Crime
-requires conduct to cause a prohibited result
Example:
Section 299 culpable homicide
Section 300 murder
DEFINITION OF IMMORAL CONDUCT

Act that violates the moral principles which does not conform to the patterns of
conduct usually accepted or established as consistent with principles of personal
and social ethics.

Morality, which is an aspiration, seeks the maximization of human conduct. Its

instrument lies in teaching, training and encouragement by parents, school
teachers, and political or religious leaders.
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMMORAL CONDUCT
AND CRIMES
To live together harmoniously, there must be a bedrock of core moral values bonding a community or a

society.

In a multi-cultural and multi-religious society like ours, there are bound to exist differences of opinions on what is

right and wrong, which is healthy because we can discourse and practice tolerance in understanding these differences.

The purposes of criminal law and morality, although overlapping in some areas, should not be confused to

mean the same thing. That which is crimes are in most cases immoral, but what is immoral is not necessarily a

crime nor illegal.

 Both systems of morality and criminal law complement each other by separate functions

(i) To address of the positive and negative acts of human conduct respectively

(ii) To distinguish what is right or wrong because recognizing it by morality alone or criminal law alone

without the necessary division of purposes between them would be hard.

 EXAMPLE OF AN IMMORAL ACT THAT IS NOT A CRIME

Ooi Kean Thong & Siow Ai Wei v DPP [2006]

In this case, a young couple was fined by local authorities in 2003 for kissing and hugging in a public park.

The Federal Court held that kissing and hugging in public places is indecent by the morality of Asian.

Chief Judge Ahmad Fairuz was quoted saying Is it moral in our society as Asians to kiss and hug in a

public place? We need to remember that (our) rules were not made in foreign countries like the US or the

UK, where such acts are accepted by society, What about the rights of the people around who saw their

act?
 EXAMPLE OF AN IMMORAL ACT THAT IS A CRIME
Normala Shamsudin v Keluarga Communication Sdn. Bhd.

The defendant published an article in Mingguan Wanita magazine where the cover photo was the photo of the
plaintiff with the caption Mala Tebus Talak RM3 Juta. The plaintiff alleged that the statement made was
defamatory of her.

The defendant was charged for defamation under S.499 of the Penal Code. The court award a sum of
RM100,000 as general damages for the libel, and RM100,000 as aggravated damages. The words were indeed
expose the plaintiff to hatred, ridicule or contempt in the mind of a reasonable man or to lower her in the
esteem of right thinking members of the public generally.
 WATCHING PORN(IMMORAL
CONDUCT)
MALAYSIA THE UK

If you possess or sell pornography in The possession of pornographic images

Malaysia, it is illegal and subject to a fine of for private use has traditionally not been an
up to RM10,000. However, Malaysia does offence in the UK. This means that UK
not censor or bar pornographic materials citizens have been able to access content on
from the internet sites overseas without breaking any laws
 QUESTION : DOES ALL IMMORAL
CONDUCT A CRIME ?
ANSWER: NO

Point 1

- An act will regarded as a crime only when it was stated by the legislation that the particular
act is a crime

- Throwing rubbish on the street is not regarded as a crime

 QUESTION : DOES ALL IMMORAL
CONDUCT A CRIME?
ANSWER: NO

Point 2
- Immoral is too subjective.
- It may differs towards different society as different society have a different view regarding
immoral conduct which can be concluded as a crime.
- It is immoral and wrong for a Muslim to consume alcohol, but it does not punishable
under the Civil Court, but it was punishable in the Syariah Court
- but in other non Muslim based country, consuming alcohol is permissible
 QUESTION : DOES ALL IMMORAL
CONDUCT A CRIME?
ANSWER: NO

Point 3

A crime may not be morally wrong, but it is permissible for the States to regarded an act as
a crime

- Example : criticizing the government is not morally wrong in a democracy oriented country,
but it can be regarded as a crime when it causes detrimental to parliamentary democracy (
Section 124B of Penal Code)