KUALA LUMPUR: A travel agent and an Indonesian woman breathed a sigh of relief today after the High Court here acquitted and discharged them of three counts of drug trafficking and possession without calling for their defence.
Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin ordered Amirul Irfan Tamby Sudeen, 32, and his Indonesian friend, Sulaiha Setyawati, 30, to be freed after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against them at the end of the prosecution case.
In the judgement, Muhammad Jamil said it was the duty of the prosecution to submit evidence to show that other individuals had access to the drugs before the raid was conducted.
He said the second prosecution witness (SP2), Kiattissach Siri Songkram (rpt: Kiattissach Siri Songkram) in his testimony stated that he never visited the premises when Amirul Irfan rented it.
“Since the prosecution failed to establish the possibility of other individuals having access to the premises, it cannot be said that the first and second accused had access to the premises,“ said the judge.
According to Muhammad Jamil, based on the testimony of the prosecution witnesses, there was Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) from several other individuals besides the two accused, who had access to the premises where the drug.
“The court found that the prosecution failed to establish that the drug was in the custody and control of the two accused. Therefore, the two accused are acquitted and discharged without being called to enter their defence,“ he said.
For the first and second charges, Amirul Irfan and Sulaiha were jointly charged with trafficking 1446.2 grammes of cannabis and 729.4 grammes of Methamphetamine at a premises in Jalan Sentul Perdana here at 6 pm on June 23, 2021.
They were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act (ADB) 1952, which is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same law and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
They face the death penalty or life imprisonment and are subject to 15 strokes of the cane, if convicted.
For the third charge, they were jointly charged with possession of 12.2 grammes of heroin and 1.7 grammes of monoacetylmorphines at the same place, time and date.
The charge was framed under Section 12(2) ADB 1952 which provides imprisonment for life or not less than five years and whipping of not less than 10 strokes of the cane, if found guilty.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Noor Dayana Mohamad, while lawyer Datuk Hariharan Tara Singh represented the two accused. - Bernama
