TAWAU: The drug dealer who used a courier service to distribute 4668.1gm of syabu was jailed a total of 60 years and ordered given 24 strokes of the cane by the High Court, here, Friday.
Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol, however, ordered Roderick Raymond Wan, 22, who was found guilty of two charges, to serve the prison sentence concurrently while the whipping sentence will run separately.
In his judgement, he said the sentence took into account the frequency of drug cases being registered in the Tawau Court.
“Although the accused is already sorry for making a false confession and this is his first offence and his age (still young), but the court also look into public interest and the weight of drugs involved in making the decision,” he said.
On the first charge, Roderick was jailed for 30 years and 12 lashes for allegedly distributing 1330.9gm of syabu in front of a shop in Jalan Stephen Tan at 2.10pm on 25 May 2022.
The drug was placed in a speaker box sent via courier.
On the second charge, the man was also jailed for 30 years with 12 lashes for distributing 3337.2gm of syabu in a room above a shop in Jalan Sedco Light, Batu 3 Jalan Apas around 3.40pm on 25 May 2022.
The drug was kept in his rented room.
The accused was charged under Section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act which can be punished under Section 39B(2) of the same Act which provides for hanging to death or imprisonment for life and 15 lashes, if convicted.
The case was first mentioned in court on August 23, 2023.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohd Suhaimi Suriana and Hurman Hussain prosecuted, while the accused, was represented by Jhassary and Jesseny P. Kang.
Mohd Suhaimi in pressing for a deterrent sentence said the trend of punishment for serious drug offences such as this case is imprisonment for life or the equivalent of 30 years, considering that cases involving drugs are multiplying in the country.
So far there have been 16 cases involving drug trafficking registered at the Tawau Court, not including arrests from other agencies.
Earlier, Jhassary asked the court to impose a concurrent sentence of 30 years in prison and 12 lashes for both cases faced by his client who previously worked as a personal courier before being arrested by police.
This is because, he said, the two cases involved happened on the same day and in one transaction when the discovery of drugs as in the second charge was because it was shown (admitted) by the accused himself.
He added that the accused grew up in a broken family because his parents were divorced and he and his younger brother were raised by their grandmother who is now 74 years old, and she is the sole breadwinner.
