You know how sometimes you read the news and the numbers just don’t add up, like when nasi lemak suddenly costs RM20 at some fancy hotel? That’s exactly how many Malaysians felt this week when three men walked away with RM4,000 fines each for a deadly KTV lounge riot. For context ah, that’s about the price of two decent Taylor Swift concert tickets during her KL show last year. Seems like justice got the ‘mamak stall discount’ treatment here.

Here’s what went down in Seremban last November. Six guys decided to bring knives to a entertainment center party like absolute lunatics. When the chaos cleared, one poor 40 year old employee lay dead. Now three of the suspects pleaded guilty to rioting with dangerous weapons under Section 148 of the Penal Code. Maximum punishment? Five years jail. Actual outcome? Four thousand ringgit per head, which to some corporate types is just petty cash for parking summonses.

Now before we get too outraged, let’s hear the lawyers out. One defense counsel insisted his clients ‘weren’t involved in the killing’. Another played the hard luck card about his client supporting two siblings. The prosecutors did try asking for ‘punishment proportionate to the crime’ but apparently the magistrate wasn’t buying what they were selling. And don’t forget four accomplices are still MIA, proving yet again how easy it is to play hide and seek with Malaysia’s overworked police force.

Here’s where the emotional thermometer spikes lah. Imagine being the victim’s family. Your loved one goes to work, gets stabbed to death, and the courts treat the killers like they forgot to pay parking tickets. It’s the kind of thing that makes ordinary folks wonder if justice wears different price tags for different people. Makes you think of that saying about how the law is like a spiderweb catches small flies but lets big wasps break through.

Now let’s talk hypocrisy, quietly. Remember last year when some politician’s son got fined for reckless driving? Or when certain corporate figures settle pollution cases out of court for amounts less than their golf club fees? Suddenly our KTV gang’s chicken feed fine doesn’t look so random does it? Creates this bad taste perception that money can indeed buy your way out of trouble, provided you have good lawyers and know which legal backdoors to push.

The human cost here ripples outward like a pebble thrown into Taman Wetland. The dead worker’s family loses a breadwinner, the KTV staff lose workplace safety, and society loses faith when violent crimes get treated like administrative hiccups. Even the accused aren’t winning. One now has criminal record that’ll haunt job applications, another worries about feeding siblings. Nobody comes out smelling like roses here, only like stale beer and regret.

But why does this belong under politics, you ask? Because justice system issues ARE political issues mah. When sentences don’t match crimes, people lose faith in governance. When laws get applied inconsistently, it becomes election campaign fodder. Already social media fills with comments comparing this to that controversial basikal lajak case. These incidents shape how voters view law and order reforms.

Malaysia actually has decent laws on paper, but real world application sometimes looks different. Section 148 gives judges discretion between fines or jail time. But discretion needs consistency. Right now folks are wondering if musical chairs might produce fairer outcomes than our court system, which is a terrible thing to think about institutions meant to protect us.

On the policy side, maybe time to review these sentencing guidelines. Indonesia revised their penal code penalties last year after outcry over similar cases. Thailand introduced minimum sentences for violent crimes in 2023. Singapore well, they don’t play play with weapons offenses. Malaysia might benefit from a national conversation about making punishment fit crimes rather than bank accounts.

Still, let’s not lose perspective. This isn’t about blaming hardworking judicial folks drowning in case backlogs. Nor about sensationalizing one verdict. It’s about systemic alignment. When people start joking that bringing knives to fights makes financial sense because the fines are cheaper than therapy sessions, something is broken.

The hopeful angle? These cases spark necessary discussions. Already State Assembly members are making noise. NGOs are compiling sentencing data. Ordinary Malaysians are debating justice reform between mouthfuls of roti canai. That engagement, however messy, shows people still believe the system can improve.

For now, focus should be supporting the victim’s family while ensuring police find the four missing suspects. Justice delayed is justice denied but justice discounted isn’t justice at all. Maybe one day we’ll reach that balance where punishments rehabilitate offenders while validating victims’ suffering. Until then, keep the conversations going over teh tarik and remember change always starts with paying attention, even when the price tags make no sense.