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KUALA LUMPUR – A former “Datuk” diplomat and his son have been charged in Bentong magistrate court over drug possession and trafficking with the possibility of the death penalty.
Zainal Abidin Alias, 78, and son Mohamed Riza, 53, are charged under Section 39B and Section 9 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
They could face the death penalty under Section 39B and under Section 9 an imprisonment of no more than five years or a fine of not more than RM20,000, or both.
Riza is also charged under Section 15(1)(a) of the same act, where he faces a fine not more than RM5,000 or a jail term not exceeding two years – for using 11-nor-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THC-COOH).
There was no plea entered after the charges were read by a translator in front of magistrate Shahrul Ekhsan Hashim.
According to the charge sheet, the duo is accused of distributing 1,020g of cannabis and possessing 60g of cannabis oil at Lot 5718 Kg Sum Sum Hilir in Janda Baik, Pahang on May 21.
No bail was given and the case mention is set for June 13.
The duo were represented by Rahmat Hazlan, Tania Scivetti, and Kamil Azman while appearing for the Pahang government are Mohammad Khalid Ab. Karim, Tuan Hayda Faridzal Abu Hasan, and S. Punitha.
Last month, Zainal Abidin was arrested for allegedly owning a cannabis plantation at his house where he was accused of processing the plant into dried leaves and liquid, believed to be cannabis oil, for sale to his regular customers and friends.
Police said he admitted to planting the marijuana trees since 2015 in an area of 2ha at a remote residence in Janda Baik, which was heavily guarded by eight dogs.
In the raid, the police had also seized 1.02kg of dried marijuana leaves worth RM2,500.
Police had also detained Riza at a house in Shah Alam, Selangor around 5.30pm on May 23.
It was previously reported that the case is considered the largest seizure of cannabis trees in the country’s history. – The Vibes, June 3, 2022