What is the difference between being "charged" and being "convicted"?
Dr Zarif Menon reflects on the important distinction between being charged with a crime and being convicted, emphasising the legal principle of innocence until proven guilty.
Dr Zarif Menon
10/29/20222 min read
Oftentimes people confuse being charged with being convicted. Some believe (mistakenly) that once a person is charged with a crime they are guilty; they follow the over-simple maxim of "where there is smoke there is fire." These people make for lousy judges. Being charged with a crime merely means that the government has formally accused a person of a crime. A person charged with a crime is, by law, innocent. Being convicted of a crime means that the person has plead guilty or has been found guilty after trial. A person convicted of a crime is, by law, guilty.
Of all the questions asked by people, perhaps the most frequent is some variation of: "how can they even charge a person with [insert crime here]?" The answer is as follows: it is very easy to charge someone with a crime, the government needs very little evidence to do so. The amount of evidence is referred to as "probable cause", Fortunately, the government needs significantly more evidence to convict someone of a crime. The amount of evidence is 'Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.' This is referred to as the Burden of Proof. The burden of proof is the exclusive province of the government. A defendant has no obligation to offer evidence.
So, how much evidence is needed to prove someone guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? There is no direct answer to that. The judge must decide, based only on the evidence presented at trial, whether the government has proven its case. In my personal experience, the prosecution could not prove their case "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" and I was acquitted without my defense being called.
So, if you are charged with crime, remember, you are innocent until proven guilty and that the burden of proof is on the government.
Even in the situation you are proven guilty, remember that you still have recourse to appeal. Never give up and keep your spirits high, especially if you have been wrongly charged just as I was in the past.
Even-though I understand the position of the government (i.e.: the prosecution) on cases just like mine, I often wonder why the double standard they apply to similar high profile cases of corruption, fraud and the obvious abuse of power by some well known personalities in Malaysia. Leads me to believe sometimes that "cash is king". I end my story leaving you, the reader, to decide what "cis" means.
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Founder, President & CEO
Pacific Alliance Group (PAG)
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