PUTRAJAYA: Four men escaped the death penalty when the charges against them for trafficking in 2.264 kg of methamphetamine were reduced to possession of the drugs.
P. Shamugasundram, 39, S. Vickneswaran, 41, K. Vignesvaran, 35 and S. Sathan, 40 were subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 strokes of the cane by the Federal Court after pleading guilty to the reduced charge of drug possession.
They were ordered to serve their sentences from the date of their arrest on Feb 1, 2016.
Lawyer Afifuddin Ahmad Hafifi, representing Shamugasundram, Vickneswaran and Sathan, had earlier told the three-man bench of the Federal Court that the Attorney-General’s Chambers had accepted the representations submitted by the four men for the charge against them to be amended to possession.
Lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik represented Vignesvaran.
Deputy Public Prosecutor How May Ling confirmed the matter, stating that the agreement was conditional upon all four appellants pleading guilty to the alternative charge.
Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, sitting with Federal Court judges Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais, then set aside the death sentence against the four men and convicted them on the alternative charge of drug possession after they pleaded guilty to the charge.
He said an imprisonment term of 20 years was an appropriate sentence for each of the four appellants.
According to the charge, the four men were allegedly found in possession of the drugs in Jalan SM 2, Sunway Batu Caves, in Gombak, Selangor at 4 pm on Feb 1, 2016.
Initially sentenced to death by the High Court in 2019 for drug trafficking, Shanmugasundram, a taxi driver; Vickneswaran (odd job worker), Vignesvaran (despatch clerk) and Sathan (security officer) were unsuccessful in their appeals in the Court of Appeal to overturn their conviction and death penalty, leading them to appeal to the Federal Court.
Through their lawyers, the four men requested a reduced jail sentence, expressing remorse and seeking another chance in life.
DPP How, however, asked the court to impose a sentence that would serve as a deterrent for the four appellants as well as to discourage others from committing a similar offence.
