Court of Appeal declares drug trafficking trial a nullity due to unauthorised representation, quashes convictions and orders a full retrial in Seremban.
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has set aside the drug trafficking convictions and 30-year sentences of two men, ordering a full retrial after declaring the original trial a nullity.
A three-member bench ruled the trial was invalid because one accused was represented by an unauthorised person throughout the proceedings.
Justice Datuk Azmi Ariffin said the individual who represented Mohd Najmi Abd Rahim had no legal standing under the Legal Profession Act 1976.
He stated the trial’s integrity was fundamentally compromised by a “bogus counsel”, rendering the entire proceeding void.
“The issue before the court is not about competency, but about the legality of the representation itself,” he said.
Consequently, the convictions and sentences against Muhammad Zarif Mohd Noor Ajala and Mohd Najmi were set aside.
The case was remitted to the Seremban High Court for a retrial, with a case mention fixed for February 24.
The court issued warrants of remand for both appellants pending the new trial.
The High Court had convicted the pair in August 2023 for trafficking 768.9 gm of methamphetamine.
Each man was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane for the offence committed in September 2018.
Mohd Najmi received an additional two-year sentence for possessing 13.11 gm of the same drug.
During the appeal, Mohd Najmi’s counsel, R Palaya, sought to adduce fresh evidence about the unauthorised representative.
He submitted that the individual was later charged and fined last year for breaching the Legal Profession Act.
Deputy public prosecutor Abdul Malik Ayob noted other qualified counsel had also represented Mohd Najmi during the trial.
Muhammad Zarif’s lawyer, Goh Cia Yee, supported the application for a retrial.
