KUALA LUMPUR: Former defence minister Mohamad Sabu or better known as Mat Sabu's son is now a free man after the High Court set aside his eight months jail sentence for drug abuse.
Clad in a maroon shirt, Ahmad Saiful Islam, 32, was calm when judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah allowed the appeal against his conviction today.
On June 24 last year, magistrate Mohamad Aizat Abdul Rahim sentenced him to eight months' jail after finding that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case.
The magistrate also ordered for the accused to be put under the surveillance of the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) and police for two years after completing his jail time.
Sequerah, in his ruling, said the urine test conducted by the police against Ahmad Saiful was not in accordance with procedures.
He said the failure by police to abide by the guidelines in omitting to take two bottles of urine has rendered the conviction flawed.
"The taking of only one bottle of urine leaves open the possibility of contamination as the same sample is used both by the police for the 'ujian saringan' (preliminary test) and by the chemist for the confirmatory test.
"The process of taking the urine sample must be conducted with strict compliance with procedure which in this case are the 'guidelines' and that the possibility of contamination of the samples be minimised," he said.
Sequerah said the prosecution had failed to prove the case against the appellant (Ahmad Saiful).
Ahmad Saiful had been on bail of RM9,000 pending the outcome of his appeal.
The Court also ordered that the bail amount be returned to Ahmad Saiful.
According to the charge, Ahmad Saiful was accused of using THC-type drugs at a hotel here at 2.05am on Jan 5, 2019.