Bangladesh, Nov. 22 -- An offender can be punished with a view to having a deterrent effect both for the person concern and for others, giving an example. But when a judge is lenient and hands down a token punishment for serious transgression, taking a sympathetic view, more harm can be done than good. The offender, when punished lightly, may repeat the offense, considering it to be of little consequence in terms of punishment. This phenomenon is known in the financial world as 'moral hazard', a good turn becoming a risk for repetition of past deeds that drew the attention of the overseer in the first place. When the fear of retributive measures is removed from the mind, committing the same lapses from the norm of permissible does not appea...