PETALING JAYA: Singer and composer Yasin Sulaiman was sentenced by the Shah Alam High Court today to life imprisonment and ordered to be given 16 strokes of the rotan after he was convicted of three drug-related charges.
Judge Norsharidah Awang handed down the sentence after allowing the prosecution’s appeal from a sessions court’s decision to acquit and discharge Yasin last year, Berita Harian reported.
Yasin, who composed and sang the hit song "Mimpi Laila", was charged in March 2022 with self-administering "11-nor-delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid", a primary active component of cannabis.
The nasyid singer was also charged with possession of 193.7g of cannabis and cultivating 17 cannabis plants at his home in Kota Damansara.
All three charges were framed under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
In November, sessions court judge Faiz Dziyauddin acquitted and discharged Yasin of all three charges but ordered that he be sent to Hospital Bahagia in Ulu Kinta, Perak for treatment.
In his judgment, Faiz said Yasin was not mentally sound when he was arrested on March 24, 2022, despite being aware of his actions.
He also said the manic symptoms Yasin exhibited had eroded his cognitive abilities to such a point that he was not able to differentiate between right and wrong and unlawful or otherwise.
Yasin was sent to Kajang prison immediately after the High Court overturned the lower court decision today.
"It’s a dark day for me," he was quoted as saying.
Deputy public prosecutors Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin and Ahmad Zuhaini Mahamad Amin appeared for the prosecution, while Yasin was represented by Ariff Azami Hussein.
