LLB 20403

CRIMINAL LAW I

LECTURE NOTE 1
INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS
 Definition of crime
 Definition of criminal law
 Purpose of criminal law
 Overview of criminal law in Malaysia
What is crime?
 Crime involves behaviour that has been
designated as criminal by legislation enacted by
Parliament.
 What act is to be considered as crime/ How the
act is categorised as crime?
 Sexual intercourse without consent – rape – crime
 With consent?
 Dishonest – crime
 Dishonesty in marriage?
 Killing of human being – crime
 Mercy killing
Components of crime
1) Conduct (actus reus)
 commission
 omission prohibited by law (actus reus)
2) State of mind accompanies the actus reus
(mens rea)
3) A punishment prescribed by law
Harm and blame
 The normal components of criminal liability
are harmful conduct and a blameworthy
 Analysis of crime
 Physical elements i.e is the accused person’s
conduct within the definition of crime prescribed
by the legislation?
 Fault element i.e what was the accused
person’s state of mind when doing the act?
 Whether there are defences available to relieve
the criminal responsibility.
 Crime involves behaviour so serious that it
cannot be treated simply as a matter between
private individuals that can be left to be resolved,
through civil law by those individuals.
 Criminal law – public law
 An offence against state
 State takes actions against offender (AG/ PP/
DPP)
What is criminal law
 Criminal law
 Substantive law
 Procedural law
Substantive law
 Substantive law
 Defines crime
 Nature of crime
 Penal Code
 Other statutes
Procedural law
 Detection
 Prosecution
 Punishment
 Administrationof criminal justice
 Procedure relating to the conduct of criminal
cases
 CPC
What is criminal law
 Codification of sets of rules relating to:
 Commission of crimes
 Punishment - The causing of an offender to suffer for
an offence

PP v Musa [1970] 1 MLJ 10

 Functions of punishment
i) Retribution
ii) Deterrence
iii) Incapacitation
iv) Rehabilitation
 Criminal law or penal law is a body of law relates
to crime
 It regulates social conduct and prescribes
whatever is threatening, harmful, or otherwise
endangering to the property, health, safety, and
moral welfare of people.
 It includes the punishment to people who violate
these laws.
 Crime is a commission of any act in violation of a law
prohibiting it or omission in violation of a law ordering
it.
The Free Dictionary
 Criminal Law
 A body of rules and statutes that defines conduct prohibited by the
government because it threatens and harms public safety and
welfare and that establishes punishment to be imposed for the
commission of such acts.
 The term criminal law generally refers to substantive criminal
laws.
 Substantive criminal laws define crimes and may establish
punishments.
 In contrast, Criminal Procedure describes the process through
which the criminal laws are enforced.
 For example:
 the law prohibiting murder is a substantive criminal law.
 The manner in which government enforces this substantive law—
through the gathering of evidence and prosecution—is generally
considered a procedural matter.
Purpose of criminal law
 Toprotect the society by facilitating the detection
and prosecution of criminal actions while
protecting the rights of the accused.
Criminal law in Malaysia
 Laws embodied in Penal Code and other several
statutes
 Sources of criminal law in Malaysia
 Penal Code (Indian Penal Code 1860)
 Different statutes based on different crimes
 Drugs
 Money laundering
 Corruption
 Road traffic offences
 Human trafficking
Criminal proceedings & legal
punishment
 Criminal proceedings
 To ascertain the criminal liability
 Penal sanction
 Once instituted, can be stayed or discontinued at any stage
 Long bin Samat v PP [1974] 2 MLJ 152

 Punishment
 Awarded in the process instituted at the suit of the AG
(prosecutor)
 When imposed may be remitted/ pardoned only by the
YDPA or Ruler or Yang di Pertua Negeri
 Punishment upon conviction must be in accordance with
the law within the ambit of relevant statute and judicial
principles
Penal Code
 Penal Code (main statute) in Malaysia went
through several stages
 Before the Penal Code, the law which applied in
most states was Islamic law
Suffian L.P. in Che Omar bin Che Soh v. Public
Prosecutor
Before the British came to Malaya ... the sultans in each of their respective
states were the heads not only of the religion of Islam but also as the political
leaders in their states, which were Islamic in the true sense of the word,
because, not only were they themselves Muslims, their subjects were also
Muslims and the law applicable in the states was Muslim law. Under such
law, the sultan was regarded as God's viceregent (representative) on earth.
.. .When the British came ... through a series of treaties with the sultans ...
and through so-called British advice, the religion of Islam became separate
into two aspects, viz. the public aspect and the private aspect. The
development of the public aspect of Islam had left the religion as a mere
adjunct to the ruler's power and sovereignty. The ruler ceased to be regarded
as God's viceregent on earth but regarded as a sovereign within his territory.
The concept of sovereignty ascribed to humans is alien to Islamic religion
because in Islam, sovereignty belongs to God alone. By ascribing
sovereignty to the ruler, i.e., to a human, the divine source of legal validity is
severed and thus the British turned the system into a secular institution.
Thus all laws including administration of Islamic laws had to receive this
validity through a secular fiat.
Development of Penal Code in Malaysia
1. The Straits Settlement Penal Code (1871) –
Penang & Malacca

2. Penal Code (1936) – Federated Malay States

3. Penal Code Amendment Ordinance (1948) –

Federation of Malaya

4. Penal Code Amendment Act (1976) –

throughout Malaysia (Peninsular, Sabah & Swak)

5. 1936 Code was revised in 1997 – present

Penal Code

Latest amendment made - 2017

Criminal law in Federal Constitution
 Limb 4 of the Federal List in the Ninth Schedule - the
Federal List consists of civil law, criminal law,
procedure and the administration of justice.
 As far as criminal law is concerned, the Penal Code
applies to all individuals within the Federation.
 Sec 2 of the Penal Code
 Every person shall be liable to punishment under this
Code and not otherwise for every act or omission
contrary to the provisions thereof, of which he shall be
guilty within the Federation of Malaya.
4 core values of Penal Code
 Carbon copy from Indian Penal Code
 Comprehensibility
 Easily understood by ordinary people who may become
subject to its offences
 Accessibility
 Readily accessible in the form of code
 Explanations and illustrations to promote comprehensibility
and accessibility
 Precision
 Language and expressions are precise/ not vague
 Democracy
 Reflect democracy of a country (by having a specific code,
specific language)
Structure of Penal Code
 511 section in 23 chapters

 CHAPTER I (ss 1-5)

 Preliminary

 CHAPTER II (ss 1-52B)

 General explanations and definitions of core concepts

 CHAPTER III (ss 53-75A)

 relate with punishment (now many provisions have been
superseded by CPC or other legislations)
 CHAPTER IV (ss 76-106)
 General defences/ exceptions

 CHAPTER V (ss 107- 120)

 Abetment

 CHAPTER VA (ss 120A-120B)

 Criminal conspiracy

 CHAPTER VI (ss 121 – 130A)

 Offences against the State
 CHAPTER VIA (ss 130B – 130T)
 Offences relating to terrorism

 CHAPTER VIB (ss 130U – 130ZC)

 Organized crime

 CHAPTER VII (ss131 – 140B)

 Offences relating to the armed forces

 CHAPTER VIII (ss 141 – 160)

 Offences against the public tranquility
 CHAPTER IX (ss 161 – 171)
 Offences by or relating to public servants

 CHAPTER X (ss 172 – 190)

 Contempts of the lawful authority of public
servants

 CHAPTER XI (ss 191 - 229)

 False evidence and offences against public
justice
 CHAPTER XII (ss 230 - 263)
 Offences relating to coin and government stamps

 CHAPTER XIII (ss 264 – 267)

 Offences relating to weights and measures

 CHAPTER XIV ( ss 268 – 294)

 Offences affecting the public health, safety,
convenience, decency and morals
 CHAPTER XV (ss 295 – 298A)
 Offences relating to religion

 CHAPTER XVI (ss 299 – 377E)

 Offences affecting the human body

 CHAPTER XVII (ss 378 – 462)

 Offences against property
 CHAPTER XVIII (ss 463 – 489D)
 Offences relating to documents and to currency
notes and bank notes

 CHAPTER XIX (ss 491)

 Criminal breach of contracts of service

 CHAPTER XX (ss 493 – 498)

 Offences related to marriage
 CHAPTER XXI (ss 499 – 502)
 defamation

 CHAPTER XXII (ss 503 - 510)

 Criminal intimidation, insult and annoyance

 CHAPTER XXIII (ss 511)

 Attempts to commit offences