Kuala Lampur, Nov. 29 -- Under Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution, an arrested person must be informed as soon as may be of the grounds of his arrest by the police officer making the arrest.

Some commentators say the words "as soon as may be" must be construed strictly to mean "forthwith", but as far back as 1968, the words were held to mean "as nearly as is reasonable in the circumstances of the particular case". (See Aminah v Superintendent of Prison, Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan [1968])

In The end of justice is justice, and the spirit of justice is fairness, I wrote that the words mean "as soon as possible" or "in the shortest practicable time".

Be that as it may, the rights of an arrested person have, since September 2007, been ...