Yoursay: DOJ deal doesn’t mean Jho Low has escaped scot-free

YOURSAY | 'It just saves DOJ's time and litigation expenses, but Low isn't free of criminal charges.'

Jho Low hails 'historic' deal with DOJ

David Dass: The US Department of Justice (DOJ) statement is quite clear. Low is not free of criminal charges, pending or otherwise. He will still stay away from the US.

The settlement is a clear admission of guilt, no matter what he thinks it says.

You do not give away money or assets which are yours because the DOJ wants it. The settlement just saves the DOJ time and expense litigating everything.

Analyse This: I agree with David Dass. This ruling is separate from any criminal charges he might face in the US.

In any case, he will never return to the United States, either of his own volition or by request of US authorities.

However, neither China nor Malaysia will ever honour extradition to the US of this man. So US criminal charges are moot, though they still may be filed.

Phanga 1742: The ninth paragraph of the agreement says the following: “Low separately faces charges in the Eastern District of New York for conspiring to launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1MDB and for conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying bribes to various Malaysian and Emirati officials, and in the District of Columbia for conspiring to make and conceal foreign and conduit campaign contributions during the United States presidential election in 2012.

“The charges in the indictments are merely allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. This agreement does not release any entity or individual from filed or potential criminal charges.”

The above states that Low has not escaped scot-free when it comes to criminal charges. But he thinks he has got away with the heist.

Clever Voter: The US authorities are only interested in protecting their own interests.

The hype over ensuring a cleaner system will soon be over as we will soon see a return of bad habits, perhaps under a different cover and label.

There is a possibility that fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho, with so much money at his disposal, will be a free man, and over here the authorities are still deciding what to do.

The difference is that in the US, they are keen to find closure, while here in Malaysia, we have vested and often personal interests, so much so that it's hard to separate them.

Casey: The US DOJ is sending a message to all commercial fraudsters, potential or otherwise, that if you’re caught with your pants down, you can get away by returning part of the loot in the form of a punitive fine.

My2cen: 'Historic' indeed. So much was stolen, it almost bankrupted a nation.

Enough was allegedly stolen to pay for Low’s way around the world, that even if he has to return part of it to whichever government, he can still afford to buy his way to freedom in another shady country.

My life savings for my daughter’s life - a mother's desperate struggle

Anonymous_b3cdcd05: The death penalty is cruel and inhuman, whatever the crime. And no one can fathom a mother's agony.

We are all human and it is human to error. Birth and death must be left to the Almighty.

Everyone deserves a second chance. It is my profound prayer that Mariko Takeuchi's life is spared and she be pardoned and allowed to return to her family.

Fellow Malaysian: After 10 years of agony and torment in a Malaysian cell, Mariko has suffered enough.

Her 71-year-old mother has made five fruitless trips and has exhausted her entire savings. Malaysiakini has highlighted her plight and the portal should help organise a campaign to save Mariko.

All of us should support the cause on humanitarian grounds.

Mission Accomplished: All I can say, “To err is human”.

Do not make Malaysia another Singapore, heartless and lacking in compassion. Be like Australia, remove the death penalty. The Lord giveth and taketh - not man.

Kafir Latte: Look at the outpouring of grief and sympathy in the comments.

How come in other cases where the drug smugglers are Indian men, so many of these commenters were saying, "He deserves it because he committed a crime"; "Think of the victims of drugs he killed"; "He should know better", et cetera?

But in this case concerning a Japanese woman, the comments here seem to be starkly different, very sympathetic, so humanitarian with all kinds of "God bless", "Hallelujah" and "Amen".

I suppose Malaysiakini commenters apply different standards to Indian countrymen compared to foreign Japanese women?

Secondly, why didn’t the government inform the inmates and their families that there is a moratorium on the death penalty? Is that true that they were not notified?

Why let them continue to suffer daily thinking that the next day might be the day they might be killed? That is daily mental anguish that could have been prevented.

Equalizer: Let Malaysians show mercy. Mercy triumphs over justice. Punishment has been meted out. She had done her time in a Malaysian prison.

Headhunter: What a heart-breaking and tragic story. We feel for her and her aged parents. The only option is to appeal to the king for a pardon or clemency.

The sad part is that the real drug kingpins behind her incarceration are probably still running their business to entrap others.

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