Deferred Prosecution Agreement: A tool to deter environmental crime by corporations in Malaysia

The commission of the corporate environmental crime is on the rise in Malaysia. This may be due to the existing legal system which stipulates minimal punishments and results in crime repetition. This study adopted a qualitative method through doctrinal legal research given the crucial need to assess and benefit from the prevailing implementation of deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in another jurisdiction. This study aims to explore the suitability of DPA as an alternative tool to deter corporate environmental crime in Malaysia. Findings from the study demonstrated that DPA could effectively prevent corporate environmental crime in Malaysia. Keywords: Corporate Environmental Crime; Prosecution of Corporate Environmental Crime; Malaysian Legal System; Deferred Prosecution Agreement eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i22.415

Deferred Prosecution Agreement: A tool to deter environmental crime by corporations in Malaysia

The commission of the corporate environmental crime is on the rise in Malaysia. This may be due to the existing legal system which stipulates minimal punishments and results in crime repetition. This study adopted a qualitative method through doctrinal legal research given the crucial need to assess and benefit from the prevailing implementation of deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in another jurisdiction. This study aims to explore the suitability of DPA as an alternative tool to deter corporate environmental crime in Malaysia. Findings from the study demonstrated that DPA could effectively prevent corporate environmental crime in Malaysia