High Court frees three men of drug trafficking charges after prosecution fails to prove case, citing witness contradictions and evidence gaps.
SHAH ALAM: Three men were acquitted and discharged by the High Court here on charges of trafficking more than 96 kilogrammes of drugs into the country.
Judge Dr Wendy Ooi Su Ghee ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against Muhammad Amiruddin Abd Hadi, 30, V. Vijandran Nair, 35, and Muhammad Faiz Ahmad, 36.
She said there were serious weaknesses in the case presented by the prosecution against the three accused.
The judge noted contradictions in the testimony of prosecution witnesses, particularly regarding the identification of case items and the number of drug boxes seized.
“The court also took note of the failure of the police to submit photographs during the seizure, in addition to the failure to submit the original closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage,” she said.
She added that the investigating officer failed to examine evidence presented by the accused, undermining the prosecution’s case.
“As such, the three accused are acquitted and discharged without being called to enter their defence,” said Wendy.
The three men were jointly charged with trafficking 96,700.3 grammes of methamphetamine near a house in Taman Batu Caves, Gombak, on August 6, 2021.
The charge, under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, provides for the death sentence or life imprisonment upon conviction.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Ainul Mardiyah Mohd Ali.
Muhammad Amiruddin was represented by lawyers Nik Saiful Adli Burhan, Muhamad Asri Abdul Hamid and Md Yusuf Md Idris.
Lawyers Zulkifli Awang and Mohd Ruzaini Zulkifli represented Vijandran Nair, while Muhammad Faiz was represented by lawyer Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent.
