JUDGMENT

Teoh Shu Yee M:

Backgrounds

[1] This judgment pertains to this court's decision to release the accused who pleaded guilty to the charge of committing an offence under s 427 of the Penal Code, after an admonition or a caution to the accused.

[2] The counsel on behalf of the accused requested the assistant of a Chinese (Mandarin) interpreter. The official qualified interpreter of the court conversed with the accused to confirm that he fluent in Mandarin (Nguyen Van Cuong & Ors v. PP). It is imperative for this court to ensure that the accused fully understands the gravity of the offence and the consequence of his plea, which entails that the accused is aware of the potential sentence he may face upon pleading guilty (Seah Ah Chiew v. PP, [2006] 8 CLJ 585; Heng Kim Khoon v. PP; [1972] 1 MLJ 30).

[3] This court has a duty to carefully assess whether the accused fully comprehends the charge to which he pleads guily, ensuring his plea is unequivocal, unreserved and unqualified, with the presence of his counsel (Abdul Kadir bin Abdul Rahman v. PP, [1984] 1 MLJ 80). As a result, the court accepted the accused's plea since the charge was explained to him in a language that he fully un