Kota Kinabalu: The High Court here on Friday discharged and acquitted a 40-year-old man on two charges of trafficking in a total of 32.84kg of methamphetamine, without his defence being called.
Judicial Commissioner Dayang Ellyn Narisa Abang Ahmad ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Yap Kai, noting that it did not prove he had physical custody or control of the drugs in both charges.
In delivering the decision, the court held that unresolved discrepancies and missing links in the handling of the drug exhibits left serious doubt regarding their identity and continuity, while investigative omissions left material aspects of the transaction unexplained.
Yap had been accused of trafficking in 1,279.93gm and 31,562.3gm of syabu at a house in Taman Manikar here between 12.12pm and 2pm on July 28, 2022, under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and a minimum of 15 strokes of the cane upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Syazwani Zawawi from the Royal Malaysian Customs Department prosecuted the case, which saw 18 witnesses called, while Yap was represented by counsel Datuk Ram Singh, Prem Elmer Ganasan and Prabjit Singh Gill.
