Judges can be involved in plea bargaining

The Court of Appeal ruled that judges and magistrates can be involved in a plea bargaining process. They can indicate the maximum sentence they are minded to impose when an accused person seeks the range of sentence.
Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif said the court's agreement on the sentence was vital because, whatever the circumstances, the judge retained the unfettered discretion whether to agree with the sentence to be imposed or otherwise.
In an unprecedented decision, Justice Raus said the time had come for Malaysian courts to depart from the judgment of a case law, New Tuck Shen vs Public Prosecutor, which prohibited the courts from giving an indication on the sentence that it was minded to impose in a plea bargaining process.
He strongly advised judges and magistrates to record exactly what transpired before them in the process of plea bargaining, saying that the notes recorded by the judge or magistrate would then form a part of the notes of the proceedings.
He also reminded the prosecution not to leave the difficult area of sentencing only to the court, saying the deputy public prosecutors should instead assist by producing authorities to back their request for a deterrent sentence and they must show the trend of sentencing in similar cases.
Raus has laid down a proposed guideline on plea bargaining in his judgment in the drug case of a air-con repairman M. Manimaran. He said the process of plea bargaining must be done transparently.