Syabu: Man gets 13 years, 10 lashes
Published on: Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: A 26-year-old self-employed local man was sent to prison for 13 years and ordered given 10 lashes of the cane by the High Court here for having 72.09gm of syabu.Wong Foo Nyen, who appeared before Judge Datuk Nurchaya Haji Arshad on Tuesday pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of having the drugs at 3pm on Aug 19, 2014 at the parking lot of Block E, Grace Court in Sembulan.He was originally charged with trafficking the drugs under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act which carries the death penalty on conviction. ADVERTISEMENT Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Gan Peng Kun told the court that a team of narcotics police, acting on a tip-off, went to Block E of the Grace Court Apartment at 2.30pm on the said day.At about 2.55pm, a car came and parked near Block E and a man, later identified as Wong, alighted and went into Block E before returning to his car five minutes later.The raiding team then approached Wong and asked whether he carried any incriminating object. Wong took out an envelope from the front pocket of his trousers, which was later found to contain two transparent plastic packets of crystalline substance believed to be dangerous drugs. ADVERTISEMENT The crystalline substance was sent to the Chemistry Department for analysis and confirmed to be syabu weighing 72.09 gm.Counsel Datuk Chau Chin Tang, representing Wong, during mitigation, told the court that Wong was a first offender, a good family member and well-liked by his friends and relatives.
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Wong got involved in the incident as a victim of another person who was arrested with him, said Chau, who requested the court impose a jail term of between five and 10 years.Gan, however, urged the court to impose a sentence of between 12 and 15 years, adding the offence was a national problem and therefore public interest must be considered.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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The alternative charge under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under Section 39A(2) of the same Act provides for imprisonment for life or not less than five years' jail and liability of not less than 10 strokes of the cane.Meanwhile, the court gave Wong a discharge not amounting to an acquittal on another trafficking charge involving 638gm of syabu on the application of the prosecution.