JUDGMENT

Denys Roberts CJ:

The first, second, fourth and fifth defendants pleaded guilty to one charge of kidnapping with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine, contrary to s. 365 of the Penal Code. The third defendant pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting an offence under the same section. All five defendants pleaded guilty to a further charge of extortion contrary to s. 385 of the Penal Code.

Before turning to the facts of the case I have three preliminary observations to make. First, that the punishments for offences against s. 365 of the Penal Code, a maximum of ten years, and for offences under s. 385, a maximum of seven years, seem to me to be far too low.

In many countries the death penalty is imposed for kidnapping and in a number of others the maximum is life imprisonment.

Second, I must comment on the good sense of the kidnapped boy's family in reporting the matter to the police at an early stage.

Third, the Royal Brunei Police deserve much praise for the skilful way in which they handled a delicate case. Acting with great speed and good sense they managed to maintain surveillance over the kidnappers without their presence being noticed and to arrest them swiftly after the boy had been released.

Facts

On the evening of 8 April this year, a twelve year old boy, Lee Han Leong had attended a private lesson at his tutor's flat, near Saint George's School. When he left the building and started to walk home, a man in black, wearing a motor-cycle helmet and face visor, walked up to him and bundled him into a white car.

The man who had seized him was the first defendant. The car was being driven by the fifth defendant, with the fourth defendant sitting in the back seat with the victim.

The victim's eyes were covered and he was driven to a house, which had been leased by the conspirators for this purpose and taken to a room where he was chained to a padlock in the wall.

During the next two days, the first defendant carried out a series of negotiations with the family of the victim by telephone. At first he demanded a ransom of $2,000,000. Later he reduced this, after several telephone calls, to $600,000, half to be paid on the evening of 10 April and half on the following day.

During these conversations the first defendant warned the boy's aunt, who acted as spokesman for the victim's family, that unless the money was produced, the kidnappers would tied up the boy and abandon him in the jungle.

On the instructions of the police, the boy's father agreed to pay over the first instalment of $300,000 on the evening of 10 April. The first defendant gave him detailed instructions as to where he should go and how he should travel. After being directed to two places enroute, he was finally told to wait at the junction of Kota Batu and Muara roads. Having informed the police of the rendezvous, he went there and parked. Soon afterwards, a car containing the first and second defendants arrived. The first defendant entered the father's car, took over the wheel and drove it towards Kampong Batu Marang, while the second defendant followed in another car.

After a while, the first defendant stopped the car, took the money joined the second defendant in the other car and drove off with him. The victim was released an hour later, the kidnappers having decided that it would be too dangerous to try to collect the second instalment of $300,000 the following day.

The conspirators gathered together at the house to divide the money which they did in the following proportions; the first and second defendants received $100,000 each, the fourth and fifth defendants $50,000 each. Each of them decided to make a small contribution from his to D3, who had rejoined the conspiracy at a late stage. He received $20,000 in all.

Soon after the victim was released, the police, who had already identified four of the five defendants, took immediate steps to arrest them. The fourth defendant was arrested soon afterwards, having been identified by one of the other kidnappers.

Out