Kota Kinabalu: A 28-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to get seven strokes of the cane for having and planting a cannabis tree.
Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus meted out the sentence to Nicklen Jaccqres after ruling that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, on Monday.
Nicklen was found guilty of having and planting the 44.7cm canabis tree that weighing 6.38gm at 2.40pm on Aug 19, 2020, in a room of a house at Kg Bahang, Jalan Hungab Nosoob in Penampang.
He was convicted under Section 6B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which punishable under Section 6B(3) of the same Act which carries a lifetime jail sentence and at least six strokes of the cane, on conviction.
The court ordered Nicklen to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest on Aug 19, 2020.
During mitigation, counsel P.J Perira asked for an appropriate sentence in accordance to Section 6B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.
He informed the court that Nicklen was a first time offender.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tham Pou Jin urged the court to impose a heavier sentence considering the rampancy and seriousness of such offence.
The prosecution had called six witnesses and the defence one witness.
