Kota Kinabalu: A 25-year-old salesman was acquitted by the High Court here on Friday of trafficking 368.3 grammes of cannabis.
Judge Saiful Azian Mokhtar discharged and acquitted Calvin Mah Meng Jie without calling for his defence, stating that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.
Mah had been accused of committing the offence at 1.15am on April 10, 2023, in the living room of a house at Taman Luyang Perdana, Luyang.
The charge under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 carries the death penalty or life imprisonment, along with not less than 15 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
On a separate charge involving the possession of 27.48 grammes of cannabis, which was Mah’s first charge, the court ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case and called Mah to enter his defence.
However, Mah chose to plead guilty to the charge, which had been committed at 12.35am on the same day at the parking area of Taman Kendara 2, Jalan Kepayan.
The offence, framed under Section 6 of the Dangerous Drugs Act, is punishable under Section 39A(1) of the same Act and carries a sentence of between two and five years’ imprisonment, along with three to nine strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
Mah was sentenced to three years in prison from the date of his arrest and was ordered to receive three strokes of the cane.
The trial began on December 3, 2025, and the prosecution closed its case on March 18 this year after calling four witnesses.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Fazriel Fardiansyah and Nurul Shafeerah Mad Iskim appeared for the prosecution, while Mah was represented by counsel Hairul Vaiyron Othman and Luke Ressa Balang.
