JOHOR BAHRU: Two men charged with trafficking over 32.15 kilogrammes of drugs five years ago were acquitted and discharged by the High Court here after the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
Judicial Commissioner Kan Weng Hin ordered the release of Muhammad Aufa Bonadi, 28, and Abbas Ahmad, 35, ruling that there was no link between them and the boat where the drugs were stored. The vessel had been left at a homestay by other Indonesians on March 18, 2020, two months before the accused were arrested.
“The boat was left out in open space for two months. Then, on May 19, 2020, the accused rented the homestay. The premises was not guarded, there was no fence, and anyone could have accessed the boat.
“There is no evidence that the accused were ever present in the area before that,” Kan stated in his judgment.
The court also highlighted multiple weaknesses in the prosecution’s case, including the failure to determine the ownership of three confiscated mobile phones and a break in the chain of evidence regarding the handling of the seized drugs.
Kan further noted that no property registry for the storeroom where the drugs were allegedly kept was submitted as evidence.
“Therefore, after a thorough evaluation of the case, the accused are acquitted and discharged,“ he ruled.
According to the charge sheet, Muhammad Aufa and Abbas were jointly accused of distributing 32,152 grammes of methamphetamine in a boat near a homestay at Jalan Selar Telik Sengat, Kota Tinggi, at 12.10 pm on May 22, 2020.
They were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries the death penalty upon conviction.
The trial, which began on Nov 19, 2023, saw the prosecution call 11 witnesses.
Deputy public prosecutor Umar Faiz Abdul Kahar led the prosecution, while Muhammad Aufa was represented by lawyer Fairuz Elias Majid. Abbas was defended by lawyers Datin Freda Sabapathy and Sarawanan Kumar.
