Malaysia’s lower house is expected to pass legal reforms to scrap the mandatory death penalty, trim the number of offences punishable by death, and place a cap on lifetime prison sentences to between 30-40 years.

It becomes law after it is passed by the upper house.

The government will abolish mandatory capital punishment but it will leave it for courts to decide whether a person convicted of a serious crime will hang.

If the Bills are passed, more than 1,300 people currently on death row can seek a review of their sentence by the federal court.

The bills seek to substitute the mandatory death penalty with life imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years as well as caning of between six and 12 strokes, depending on the crime.

There are currently 11 offences that carry the mandatory death penalty, including murder, drug trafficking, terrorism, kidnapping, and possession of firearms.

Aljazeera.