A 33-year old loan shark runner, Mohammaad Faizal Ali, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to committing 24 offences including six charges of loan shark harassment, one charge of robbery with hurt and one charge of causing hurt to a seven-year old.
Faizal had committed the offences even though he had only been recently released about a year earlier from prison after having been sentenced in 2006 to seven years’ Corrective Training with caning for theft and robbery with hurt.
The Prosecution argued for the Court to impose a minimum sentence of 12 years’ Preventive Detention for the safety of the general public and so that he could not harm others.
A sentence of Preventive Detention is intended for habitual offenders whom are at least 30-years old and considered to be too recalcitrant for reformation and it is usually imposed if the accused has shown that he is such a menace to society that he should be incarcerated for a substantial period of time.
Although the Courts generally consider the need for the public to be protected from physical bodily harm when addressing the need for Preventive Detention, offences against property, such as theft, offences against the peace (e.g. affray) and offences against society in general (e.g. drug consumption and drug possession) may also be taken into account for the purpose of determining whether it is appropriate for an order of Preventive Detention to be made.
More information on the case may be found here.