Kota Kinabalu: A 40-year-old jobless man was sentenced to seven years’ jail and ordered to be given three strokes of the cane for taking syabu, repeatedly.
Sessions Court Judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim handed the sentence to Khairul Hisham Zainal who pleaded guilty to the charge against him.
Khairul was found taking the drug at 2.40pm on May 30 after his urine was tested positive at the Beaufort police station.
He has previous conviction record under Section 39C(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) for taking drugs.
The offence under Section 39C(2)/39B of the DDA carries a jail term of between seven and 13 years, and whipping, on conviction.
The court ordered Khairul to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest.
After serving the jail sentence, Khairul was ordered to be placed under police supervision for two years.
During mitigation, Khairul who was not represented asked for leniency.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Afiqa Alya urged the court to impose a heavy sentence on the grounds that Khairul was a habitual offender and that the offence was serious.
