The positive belief about jury trials in the UK and the UK contrasts with popular belief in many other nations, in which it is considered bizarre and risky for a person’s fate to be put into the hands of untrained laymen. Consider japan, for instance, which used to have optional jury trials for capital or other serious crimes between 1928 and 1943. The defendant could freely choose whether to have a jury or trials by judges, and the decisions of the jury were non-binding. During the regime this was suspended, arguably stemming from the popular belief that any defendant who risks his fate on the opinions of untrained laymen is almost certainly guilty, Similarly, jury trials were abolished by the government of India in 1960 (this was followed by Pakistan soon afterwards) on the grounds they would be susceptible to media and public influence. One Pakistani Judge called a trial by jury “amateur justice.” Malaysia abolished its jury system from 1 January 1995, citing inter alia the danger of jurors untrained in the legal profession delivering verdicts coloured by emotions or popular perception. One of the last trials-by-jury in Malaysia was the notorious Mona Fandey case in 1994.