Kota Kinabalu: A 30-year-old man walked out as a free man Friday after the High Court freed him from two charges of drug trafficking.
Ling Sieng Hee was discharged and acquitted by Judge Datuk Celestina Stuel Galid of the charges without his defence being called.
In her ruling, Celestina said the court found that the prosecution had not established a prima facie case against the accused.
Ling, a cook, was accused of trafficking 174.01gm of Ketamine at 1am on July 12, 2019 at the roadside area of Kg Air here.
On the second count, Ling allegedly trafficked 50.8gm of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) also at the same place, same time.
He had on Oct 21, 2021 claimed trial to each charge under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries a punishment with either the death penalty or life in prison and whipping with a minimum of 15 strokes on conviction.
Six prosecution witnesses were called to testify at the prosecution’s stage.
Ling, who had been under remand since arrested, thanked his counsel after the proceedings.
He was represented by assigned counsel Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah.
Meanwhile, a 46-year-old labourer was fined RM1,200 or four months jail by the Magistrate’s Court for assaulting his former colleague.
Ricky Lewo pleaded guilty before Magistrate Dzul Elmy Yunus to voluntarily causing hurt to one Hardi Saip on May 8, this year, at 9am, at a factory in Inanam.
He was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to one year or a fine of up to RM2,000 or both on conviction.
The prosecution informed the court that police investigations revealed Ricky, a former factory worker, had suddenly quit his job after expressing dissatisfaction with a colleague.
He later returned to the factory to demand his wages and punched the complainant in the face.
Duty Counsel Jagnesh Jaya representing Ricky requested a lower fine.
Prosecuting officer, Inspector Mohamad Hamidi Mohamad Hamzah applied an adequate sentence.
