COMBATING CHEATING OFFENCES: DOES A MORE DETERRENT PUNISHMENT CONSTITUTE A SUSTAINABLE POLICY?

Creating a safe, sustainable and crime-free society is one of the challenges faced by the authorities in almost all nations. In Malaysia, the Ministry of Home Affairs has placed crime reduction as a major component in the Key Performance Indicator. Analysing the judgements awarded by the Malaysian courts in cheating cases within the last decade, the paper argues that consideration of aggravating factors is warranted in view of the escalating number of cheating cases. Cases that have been decided indicate that the deterrence factor has not been fully considered in the punishments granted, thus leading to heavy economic losses to the affected parties.