Kota Kinabalu: Two foreign men were sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court here Thursday for trafficking 156.97gm of syabu.
Judge Leonard David Shim in his decision, held that the prosecution had successfully proven its case against both Jeefrey Apik and Amir Afandi, beyond reasonable doubt.
Filipino Jeefrey, 28, and Indonesian Amir, 50 years and nine months, were found guilty of committing the offence at 12pm on Dec 19, 2017 by the roadside in front of the AP Auto Parts, at Light Industry Shophouse, Lorong Kelapa, mile 5 ½, Jalan Tuaran in Inanam.
The paperless men were jointly charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries a punishment of either the death penalty or life in prison and whipping with a minimum of 15 strokes on conviction.
Leonard also ordered Jeefrey to be given 15 lashes of the cane while Amir was spared the whip due to his age.
Leonard in delivering his decision, held among others, that in the present case there was no evidence of buying and selling of the drugs at the time the accused were arrested.
Leonard held that having heard the submission, the court exercise its discretion under 39B(2A) of the Dangerous Drugs Act and sentenced both accused to life and 15 strokes of whipping to Jeefrey.
However, pursuant to Section 289(c) of the Criminal Procedure Code, whipping was not imposed on Amir, he said.
The duo, who were remanded since their arrest, were ordered to serve their sentence from the date of their arrest on Dec 19, 2017.
Jeefrey and Amir, who were represented by assigned counsel Arthur Borine and Luke Ressa Balang, respectively, gave their evidence under oath.
Three witnesses testified in their defence including Jeefrey and Amir.
The prosecution had called three witnesses to testify at the prosecution’s stage.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Mohammed Ali @ Rocky Imran appeared for the prosecution.
