Interpretation of grave and sudden provocation in Malaysia / Mohd Safri Mohammed Na’aim

Provocation as a defence to murder is recognised under Exception 1 to section 300 of the Penal Code. One of the conditions that has to be met for a successful provocation is that the provocation must have been grave and sudden. Since murder is regarded as one of the most violent crimes, the requirem...

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Main Author: Mohammed Na’aim, Mohd Safri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universiti Teknologi MARA, Negeri Sembilan 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/29491/
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author Mohammed Na’aim, Mohd Safri
author_facet Mohammed Na’aim, Mohd Safri
author_sort Mohammed Na’aim, Mohd Safri
building UiTM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Provocation as a defence to murder is recognised under Exception 1 to section 300 of the Penal Code. One of the conditions that has to be met for a successful provocation is that the provocation must have been grave and sudden. Since murder is regarded as one of the most violent crimes, the requirements of graveness and suddenness are crucial to prevent the defence of provocation from being abused. These two requirements are cumulative, whereby if any of these elements is lacking, the defence will fail. However, a cautious reading of this Exception shows some ambiguity in the interpretation of the terms grave and sudden. This ambiguity has resulted in several interpretations by the courts. This paper aims to analyse the court’s approach towards the interpretation of these words. The paper consists of a detailed critical analysis of the Penal Code, case law and scholarly writing related to this area. The paper concludes that there still exists some ambiguity in the interpretation of grave and sudden provocation. This leaves the interpretive task solely to the court, thus resulting in a possible risk to the accused who relies on this line of defence.
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spelling uitm-294912020-04-14T05:31:42Z https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/29491/ Interpretation of grave and sudden provocation in Malaysia / Mohd Safri Mohammed Na’aim joa Mohammed Na’aim, Mohd Safri Criminal law and procedure KP Asia and Eurasia, Africa, Pacific Area, and Antarctica. Asia. (South Asia. Southeast Asia. East Asia) Provocation as a defence to murder is recognised under Exception 1 to section 300 of the Penal Code. One of the conditions that has to be met for a successful provocation is that the provocation must have been grave and sudden. Since murder is regarded as one of the most violent crimes, the requirements of graveness and suddenness are crucial to prevent the defence of provocation from being abused. These two requirements are cumulative, whereby if any of these elements is lacking, the defence will fail. However, a cautious reading of this Exception shows some ambiguity in the interpretation of the terms grave and sudden. This ambiguity has resulted in several interpretations by the courts. This paper aims to analyse the court’s approach towards the interpretation of these words. The paper consists of a detailed critical analysis of the Penal Code, case law and scholarly writing related to this area. The paper concludes that there still exists some ambiguity in the interpretation of grave and sudden provocation. This leaves the interpretive task solely to the court, thus resulting in a possible risk to the accused who relies on this line of defence. Universiti Teknologi MARA, Negeri Sembilan 2017 Article PeerReviewed text en https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/29491/1/29491.pdf Mohammed Na’aim, Mohd Safri (2017) Interpretation of grave and sudden provocation in Malaysia / Mohd Safri Mohammed Na’aim. (2017) Journal of Academia <https://ir.uitm.edu.my/view/publication/Journal_of_Academia.html>, 5 (1). pp. 166-177. ISSN 2289-6368 https://nsembilan.uitm.edu.my/joacns/
spellingShingle Criminal law and procedure
KP Asia and Eurasia, Africa, Pacific Area, and Antarctica. Asia. (South Asia. Southeast Asia. East Asia)
Mohammed Na’aim, Mohd Safri
Interpretation of grave and sudden provocation in Malaysia / Mohd Safri Mohammed Na’aim
title Interpretation of grave and sudden provocation in Malaysia / Mohd Safri Mohammed Na’aim
title_full Interpretation of grave and sudden provocation in Malaysia / Mohd Safri Mohammed Na’aim
title_fullStr Interpretation of grave and sudden provocation in Malaysia / Mohd Safri Mohammed Na’aim
title_full_unstemmed Interpretation of grave and sudden provocation in Malaysia / Mohd Safri Mohammed Na’aim
title_short Interpretation of grave and sudden provocation in Malaysia / Mohd Safri Mohammed Na’aim
title_sort interpretation of grave and sudden provocation in malaysia / mohd safri mohammed na’aim
topic Criminal law and procedure
KP Asia and Eurasia, Africa, Pacific Area, and Antarctica. Asia. (South Asia. Southeast Asia. East Asia)
url https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/29491/
https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/29491/