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Single mother with nine children sentenced to death for meth possession in Malaysia
Maroosha MuzaffarWed, 20 October 2021, 4:15 am·4-min read
A 55-year-old woman was sentenced to death in Malaysia last week after being convicted for possessing drugs.
Hairun Jalmani, a single mother of nine children, was sentenced by Judge Alwi Abdul Wahab on 15 October at the Tawau High Court in Sabah, Malaysia. She was caught with 113.9g of methamphetamine in January 2018.
A harrowing video of the woman, who works as a fishmonger, crying inconsolably after she was handed the death sentence has gone viral on social networks in the country, igniting a fierce debate on women’s rights and capital punishment.
The 45-second video shows a handcuffed Jalmani breaking down in tears as she is taken away from the courthouse. She also pleaded for help outside the courtroom while sobbing uncontrollably.
Under Malaysian law, those found in possession of over 50 grams of methamphetamine face a mandatory death penalty. It is among a minority of countries — China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Singapore — that continue to impose the death penalty for drug-related offences.
Critics say the harsh penalties are overwhelmingly borne by the country’s marginalised, especially vulnerable women. They also pointed out that most women on death row in Malaysia have been sentenced under the strict drug trafficking law that “fails to take their vulnerable socio-economic realities into account”.
According to an Amnesty International report, till February 2019, as many as 1,281 people were reported to be on death row in Malaysia. Of this, 568 people, or 44 per cent, were foreign nationals. “Of the total, 73 per cent have been convicted of drug trafficking,” the report said, adding that “this figure rises to a staggering 95 per cent in the cases of women”.
“Some ethnic minorities are overrepresented on death row, while the limited available information indicates that a large proportion of those on death row are people with less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds,” the report added.
