BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

CCTV footage will not be considered sufficient evidence to convict a person of theft under the new Syariah Penal Code, the assistant solicitor-general said on Thursday.

The legislation, which will take effect this April, penalises theft with amputation of the hand, if the offence can be proven by the confession of the accused, or eyewitness testimony of at least two Muslim men.

Assistant Solicitor-General Hj Mohd Yusree Hj Junaidi said CCTV can be used as evidence in syariah courts, but cannot be used in place of eyewitness testimony.

“Testimony from two adil witnesses is needed to enforce the _hadd _punishment like amputation,” he told diplomats during a briefing on Thursday.

An adil is a Muslim who performs the prescribed religious duties and is free from major sins.

If a case does not meet these syariah requirements, it will be prosecuted in the civil courts.

Hj Mohd Yusree said offences which carry the hadd punishment – such as amputation, stoning and the death penalty – require a high burden of proof where there must be no room for doubt.

“It would be quite difficult to find several eyewitnesses who are adil and the likelihood that these cases would proceed in the Syariah Court is very small.”

The Brunei Times