JOHOR BAHRU: Three friends escaped the gallows, after the High Court here today acquitted them of two charges of drug trafficking and possession, five years ago.
Judicial Commissioner Noor Hayati Mat made the ruling after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against Muhamad Alqayyum Abdul Majid, 30, Nur Hasanah A. Latif, 26, and Mohamad Aizat Omar, 33, at the end of the prosecution case.
“Therefore, the three accused are discharged and acquitted of the two charges, without being called to enter a defence,” she said.
Noor Hayati said that the prosecution failed to present evidence that the first accused (Muhamad Alqayyum) rented or lived in the third room in an apartment, in Taman Cahaya, Kota Puteri, and failed to prove that the man handled the drugs found because there was no evidence of his fingerprints.
“The prosecution failed to submit additional evidence, based on the defence’s suggestion that the plastic container containing drugs was not found on the floor in an open state but was found in the closet,” she said.
She added that the element of common intention was not proven, and the suggestion that the second accused (Nur Hasanah) was sleeping was confirmed by the raid leader, who was the second prosecution witness, although the sixth prosecution witness, who was the investigating officer, disagreed.
On the third accused (Mohamad Aizat), Noor Hayati said the fact that the third accused was not present during the raid, and was not proven to stay permanently in the third room, created a gap in the narrative of the prosecution’s case, and the element of common intention also failed to be proven.
Apart from that, she said that the third room may be accessible to other people, because several individuals are often in the house, besides, the issue of the access card not being seized from any of the accused raises questions about whether only they had access to the house.
Deputy public prosecutor, Siti Norliza Abdullah, appeared for the prosecution, while lawyers Manian K. Marappan and Harpreet Kaur Gill represented Muhammad Alqayyum; lawyer Nisrina Atirah Abd Razak represented Nur Hasanah and Mohamad Aizat Omar was represented by lawyer N. Mariappan.
Six prosecution witnesses testified in the trial, which commenced on Sept 18, 2023.
The three accused were charged together with distributing 204.76 grams of cannabis in the apartment at 2.35 pm, on Sept 17, 2019. The charge was framed under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which can be punished under Section 39(B) of the same law, and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which provides for death by hanging or life imprisonment with 12 strokes of the rattan, upon conviction.
They were also accused of having in their possession 3.09 grams of ketamine and were charged under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which is punishable under Section 12(3) of the same law, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of five years or a fine not exceeding RM100,000, or both, if convicted.–Bernama
