But such a "soft" sentence seems like an even more cynical mockery.
End of story!" Labour's Chris Bryant said it had been "one of the most flagrant attempts at a contempt of parliament in parliament's history!" If their perjury had been in a court they would have risked seven years' imprisonment, and the way he said it made it clear that that would be just another example of soft sentencing.
"While I recognize that the government has to reward cooperating witnesses, I'm surprised that the lead defendant who initiated the conspiracy and did most of the activities received such a soft sentence," Edward Little, a lawyer for Mr. Plotkin, said Friday.
Siphesihle Dube gives the example of soft sentencing, and says judges continue to be lenient on traffic crimes, even when drivers have killed someone.
A lack of raised pavements, poor enforcement, untrustworthy licensing and soft sentencing have all been named as contributing factors, but the heart of the problem is to do with attitude, something that Dube calls 'a culture of lawlessness, right across the board'.
Yet drivers involved in traffic accidents can still receive softer sentences, such as being made to donate money to charity, as their crimes are often not considered to have been deliberate.
Lee, who has won 55 titles around the world, had his case heard by a three-member panel in Amsterdam on 11 April and faced a two-year ban which would have all but ended his career but the Kuala Lumpur-based BWF opted for a softer sentence.
His voice was soft, his sentences punctuated by wan smiles.
He speaks his native Creole in soft, clipped sentences and has the humble air of one who has witnessed death and narrowly escaped his own.
The first reason he comes up with is that the EU is responsible for making jails too soft and sentences too short.
