In Malaysia, a 36-year-old odd-job worker was sentenced to death, and a 31-year-old former college student had his death sentence appeal dismissed in two separate cannabis trafficking cases.

Odd-Job Worker Gets Death For Cannabis Trafficking

SEREMBAN: A 36-year-old man was sentenced to death for trafficking 381.8gm of cannabis at an industrial estate near here nearly five years ago.

Odd-job worker Mohd Azman Ahmad from Taman Bukti in Ampangan committed the offence at 6.30pm at the Taman Tasek Jaya Industrial Park on April 12, 2004.

High Court judge Datuk Azhar Ma’ah said yesterday the prosecution had proven their case beyond reasonable doubt.

Mohd Azman was sitting in the front passenger seat of a car that had stopped near a workshop at the industrial estate. Policemen who ambushed the vehicle found the drugs in a pouch worn by the accused and a plastic bag which was hidden under his left thigh.

To an argument by defence counsel R. Ledchumiah that the policeman who took the report at the Paroi station had stated that the seized drug was not cannabis but heroin, Azhar said the officer concerned made a mistake in the report.

“The mistake was corrected later and this was also supported by a report from the Chemist Department,” he said.

Ledchumiah said his client would appeal the decision.

– Article from The Star Online.

Ex-College Student Emotionless After Death Sentence Appeal Dismissed

A 31-year-old former college student showed no emotion when the Federal Court dismissed his appeal against a death sentence imposed by the lower court for trafficking in drugs 10 years ago.

After the court reaffirmed the death sentence on Teng Howe Sing imposed by the Sibu High Court and reaffirmed by the Court of Appeal, Teng was seen conversing with his parents before he was whisked away to the prison.

“We do not wish to disturb the findings of the lower court,” Federal Court judge Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin said in a written judgment today.

The High Court and the Court of Appeal had come to the same conclusion that Teng had knowledge of the drugs when he was caught by the police.

Zulkefli agreed that this was a case of actual possession and that Teng had failed to raise a reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case and rebut the presumption of trafficking.

Teng was charged with trafficking in 371.12 grammes of cannabis in front of WWW Chat Cafe, Jalan Kai Peng, Off Jalan Tuanku Osman in Sibu about 7.50pm on March 17, 1999.

Teng and another man, identified as Moh Yong Ming, were arrested by police in an ambush. They were seen coming down the staircase that led to the offices of Skynet Worldwide Courier Services on the second floor of a shophouse block, and were walking toward a motorcycle parked outside.

They ran away when the police shouted “Polis, jangan lari”. Teng was seen throwing away a package, containing the drugs. He and Moh, who turned a prosecution witness, were taken to the Sibu Central Police Station for investigation.

The police seized a Skynet Consignment Note, a wallet and a handphone from Teng. He had collected the package from Skynet office by signing himself as Ling Hang Wei.

The package, from a person known as Ah Mui in Selangor written on the reverse side, was addressed to “Jeffrey Wong, Sibu”.

The chemist confirmed that the dried leaves inside the package were cannabis.

– Article from the New Straits Times.