DNA Retention of Child Offenders in Malaysia: Implications on the Basic Rights of Children

(Penyimpanan DNA Pesalah Kanak-kanak di Malaysia: Penilaian Semula Hak Asasi Kanak-kanak)

  • Mohd Munzil Muhamad UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA

Abstract

The use of DNA evidence has facilitated the criminal justice process, as a tool for the purpose of preventing and solving crimes. The history of the establishment of the DNA data bank has shown the use of DNA evidence to be very significant in most countries, including Malaysia. This article will discuss the issues relating to the retention of DNA in the Malaysian Forensic DNA data bank by focusing on the aspects of privacy rights, type of offence, and the time limit for storage of child offenders' DNA in the context of Malaysian law. Apart from that, the study shows that the retention of child offenders' DNA without a time limit is against the principle "in the best interest of the child" Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as it undermines the child's basic rights.


Keywords: The Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Identification Act of 2009, DNA retention, crime, privacy, child

Author Biography

Mohd Munzil Muhamad, UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA

Fakulti Undang-Undang

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

References

Akta Identifikasi Asid Deoksiribonukleik (DNA) 2009 (Malaysia) (Akta 699).

Akta Kanak-Kanak 2001 (Malaysia) (Akta 611).

Andrei Semikhodskii, 2007. Dealing with DNA Evidence: A Legal Guide. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge-Cavendish.

Andrew, D. Thibedeau, 2011. National Forensic DNA Databases - Council for Responsible Genetics. Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Anita Abdul Rahim, 2012. Jenayah Kanak-kanak dan Undang-undang Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Candice Roman-Santos, "Concerns Associated with Expanding DNA Databases" dlm. Hastings Science and Technology Law Journal 2:2, hlm. 267-300, 2010.

Crimes Act 1914 (Commonwealth of Australia).

Dasar Kanak-Kanak Negara.

Dasar Perlindungan Kanak-kanak Negara.

Hoge, Robert, D., 2001. The Juvenile Offender, Theory, Research and Applications. United States of America: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Jennifer, L. Doleac, 2011. "The Effects of DNA Databases on Crime". Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Kertas Kerja No. 12-002. Stanford University, November 2011.

Kanun Keseksaan (Malaysia) (Akta 574).

Konvensyen Mengenai Hak Kanak-kanak.

Liz Campbell dan Nessa Lynch, 2012. "Competing Paradigms? The Use of DNA Powers in Youth Justice" dlm. Youth Justice 12:1, hlm. 3-18.

Sheldon Krimsky dan Tania Simoncelli, 2011. Genetic Justice: DNA Data Banks, Criminal Investigations and Civil Liberties. New York:Columbia University Press.

Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. 2006. The National DNA Database. United Kingdom: Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (United Kingdom).

Portal Rasmi Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat. 2013. Konvensyen Mengenai Hak Kanak-kanak. http://www.jkm.gov.my/content.php?pagename=konvensyen_mengenai_hak_kanak-kanak&lang=bm (Capaian pada 5 Mei 2016).

Portal Rasmi Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat. 2013. Dasar Kanak-Kanak Negara. http://www.jkm.gov.my/jkm/index.php?id=VEliZUhrbWc2VC9wM3hEVWxTWVVFdz09&r=portal/left [8 November 2016]

Portal Rasmi Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, 2013. Dasar Perlindungan Kanak-Kanak Negara. http://www.jkm.gov.my/jkm/index.php?r=portal/left&id=TlFwUVczN0RLQ3VlRDFqRTFmVENuZz09 (Capaian pada November 2016).

Malaysia, Perbahasan Dewan Rakyat, Bacaan Pertama, 18 Ogos 2008, 26, (Dato' Seri Syed Hamid Albar).

Malaysia, Perbahasan Dewan Rakyat, Bacaan Kedua & Ketiga, 28 Ogos 2008, 72 dan 86, (Dato' Seri Syed Hamid Albar).

Malaysia, Perbahasan Dewan Rakyat, Jawatankuasa, 23 Jun 2009, 89, (Datuk Ronald Kiandee).

Michael Lynch. 2003. God's signature: DNA profiling, the new gold standard in forensic science. Endeavour 27(2): 93-97.

Mohd Munzil Muhamad, 2016. "Mengapakah Analisa DNA Amat Berguna dalam Sistem Perundangan?". https://asklegal.my/p/mengapakah-analisa-dna-amat-berguna-di-dalam-sistem-perundangan (Capaian pada 12 Januari 2016).

Robin Williams, Paul Johnson dan Paul Martin, 2004. "Genetic Information and Crime Investigation: Social, Ethical and Public Policy Aspects of the Establishment, Expansion and Police Use of the National DNA Database". School of Applied Social Sciences, University of Durham.

Ron C. Michaelis, Robert G. Flanders, Jr. dan Paula H. Wulff, 2008. A Litigator's Guide to DNA: From the Laboratory to the Courtroom. Burlington, Massachusetts: Academic Press.

Mohd. al-Adib Samuri dan Noor Aziah Mohd. Awal, "Hukuman terhadap Pesalah Kanak-kanak di Malaysia: Pencegahan atau Pemulihan?" dlm. Jurnal Undang-undang 13, hlm. 35-54, 2009.

Tania Simoncelli, "Dangerous Excursions: The Case Against Expanding Forensic DNA Databases to Innocent Persons" dlm. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 34:2, hlm. 390-97, 2006.

t.n., 2013. Policy Paper, Protection of Freedoms Act 2012: how DNA and fingerprint evidence is protected in law. GOV.UK (Capaian pada 4 April 2013).
Published
2017-02-08
How to Cite
MUHAMAD, Mohd Munzil. DNA Retention of Child Offenders in Malaysia: Implications on the Basic Rights of Children. Kanun: Jurnal Undang-undang Malaysia, [S.l.], v. 29, n. 1, p. 100-117, feb. 2017. ISSN 2682-8057. Available at: <https://jurnal.dbp.my/index.php/Kanun/article/view/1209>. Date accessed: 23 nov. 2024.