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26 June 2012| last updated at 02:09PM

Singaporean gets five year jail for possessing drugs



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IPOH: The High Court here today sentenced a 58-year-old Singaporean man to five years jail and RM40,000 fine in default of eight months jail for possessing over 5,000g of drugs in the form of over one million Eramin 5 pills two years ago.

 

The accused Tan Cheok Kwe pleaded guilty to the charge of possessing 5,964.8g of Nimetazepam in Syarikat Hock Cheong Transport Sdn Bhd, No. 29, Laluan Kangsar 7, off Jalan Kuala Kangsar, Vaiva Industrial area here at 3.30pm on Aug 19, 2010. 
 
Earlier, Tan's counsel Datuk Naran Singh made known to the court his client's willingness to serve the maximum sentence under Section 12 (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carried a jail term of not more than five year, fines of not more than RM100,000 or both. 
 
He also appealed to the court to consider setting the date of sentencing to begin from the date of arrest. 
 
He pointed out that initially, his client had been charged under Section 39B (1)a of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carried the death sentence penalty. 
 
"The accused has shown cooperation by pleading guilty and therefore saving the court's time and cost in holding a trial," he said. 
 
Deputy public prosecutor Aiza Khairuddin however, pushed for a more detterent sentence.   
 
In making his decision, Judge Datuk Zainal Adzam Abd Ghani said the most prominent factor in the case was the large amount of drugs involved.
 
"It is evident that the accused had meticulously planned to hide the drugs andreap profits from its distribution. 
 
"The accused is lucky to have been offered an alternative charge instead of the initial charge which carries the death penalty," he said. 
 
Zainal then sentenced Tan to serve starting from the date of arrest which was on Aug 19, 2010. 
 
Tan was incarcerated at the Sungai Udang Prison in Malacca since two years ago. 
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