Kota Kinabalu: An unemployed man was tentatively charged in court here, Tuesday, with trafficking in 51.20gm of syabu.
Musakkar Hakal, 51, who was brought before Magistrate Lovely Natasha Charles, allegedly committed the offence at 7.50am, on Nov 21, by the roadside of Kg Wak-Wak, Sepanggar.
However, no plea was recorded from Musakkar. The offence, under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, carries a punishment of either the death penalty or life in prison and whipping with a minimum of 15 strokes.
The prosecution, in applying for a mention date, objected bail as the charge has no provision for bail.
Lovely fixed Jan 31, for mention and ordered Musakkar, who was not represented, to be further remanded.
Meanwhile, four men were sentenced to 20 months’ jail each for having 4.4gm of syabu.
Juli Kading, Elson Mabar, Ajir Saripbin and Jomar Abdul pleaded guilty to having the drugs at Sepanggar at 1.20pm on Oct 4.
They were charged under Section 12 (2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which provides for a fine of up to RM100,000 or up to five years’ jail, or both, on conviction.
The four were also ordered to be referred to the Immigration Department after serving their sentence.
In another case, a 23-year-old woman was fined RM1,800 or two months jail for having gambling paraphernalia.
Rose Ansakit, a cashier, admitted to purchasing illegal lottery tickets at 4.20pm on Sept 30 at Kepayan Low-Cost Housing near here.
She was charged under Section 9(1) of the Common Gaming House Act 1953 which provides for a fine of up to RM5,000 or up to six months jail or both on conviction.
The court heard from the prosecution that police arrested Rose for committing the offence and that RM30 cash was also seized from her.
Duty counsel Lim Ming Zoong representing Rose, requested leniency as it was her first offence.
Lovely ordered the seized money to be forfeited as government revenue.
In another development, a 47-year-old labourer was charged with stealing a crate of stout worth RM175.
Pang Kong Yen pleaded not guilty to stealing the alcoholic beverages at Bataras Railway Putatan at 4.50pm on Nov 30.
The charge, under Section 380 of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of up to 10 years and liability of a fine on conviction.
The court set Jan 31, next year for pre-trial case management and released Pang on a bail of RM2,000 in two sureties.
Inspector Kelvan Elson Maik prosecuted.
