The judge wanted to set an "example" to all the other NS shirkers out there, so she sentenced Ahmad Hafizal to 14 days jail time in lieu of a RM600 fine that he couldn't afford to pay. The boy has since been freed when the state MB came forward to pay his fine.
By the letter of the law, she did the right thing; poverty is certainly no excuse for breaking the law (though some others may feel otherwise), but courts have the discretion to take into account mitigating circumstances before they pass judgement. In Hafizal's case, the fact that he comes from a disadvantaged background, and he is an important bread-winning member of his family, should have been considered during sentencing.
Force the lad to attend NS, perhaps a reprimand on permanent record. But a RM600 fine, then jail-time because he couldn't pay -- darn me silly if i'm wrong, but that just seems a bit heavy handed to me.
If the judiciary wanted to make an "example" out of someone, Hafizal was a very poor choice. For the State to lash out (or be thought of an unsympathetic) on the disadvantaged is never a good move.
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