TAWAU: A Filipino fisherman who was paid RM500 to collect a bag containing drugs was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and 10 strokes of the cane by the High Court here on Thursday.
Rizal Aral, 34, (pic) a father of four, pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of possessing 128.7gm of syabu.
Judicial Commissioner Steve Ritikos ordered Rizal to serve his sentence from the date of his arrest on June 20, 2025. He will also be referred to the Immigration Department after completing his sentence.
Rizal was arrested at about 3.30pm on June 20, 2025, near the entrance road to Inderasabah Fishing Paradise.
According to the facts of the case, police from the Tawau District Police Headquarters Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division were conducting an operation when they saw Rizal walking towards the premises while carrying a grey bag.
Rizal attempted to flee after noticing the police and threw the bag to the ground. He was arrested following a struggle, while a body search found no prohibited items.
Police later found three green packets containing clear crystalline substances suspected to be syabu inside the discarded bag. Chemical analysis confirmed the total weight of the drugs was 128.7gm.
Further investigations found that Rizal had been instructed by an individual known as Sultan to collect the bag by the roadside near the entrance to the premises.
Rizal admitted that he knew the bag contained drugs and had been promised RM500 for collecting it.
He was charged under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39A(2) of the same Act.
In mitigation, his counsel Nasra Abd Raup asked the court to impose a minimum sentence, citing his guilty plea, which saved the court’s time and costs, and the fact that it was his first offence.
She said Rizal had agreed to collect the bag for RM500 to support his wife and four children, who are still in school, as he had difficulty finding permanent employment.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Nisla Abdul Latif urged the court to impose a heavy sentence in the public interest, stressing that Rizal knew the bag contained drugs.
She also said the court should consider that Rizal’s passport had expired in 2019 and that he had made no effort to renew it to seek better employment.
