KOTA KINABALU: Three Sabahan youths were jointly charged at the High Court here with two counts of trafficking in cannabis.
Annuar Azmi, Hasrani Aliamid, both 22, and Mahadan Majid, 23, pleaded not guilty before Judicial Commissioner Wong Siong Tung.
On the first and second counts, the trio allegedly trafficked 488.2g and 495.2g of cannabis, respectively, on May 15, 2020, between 9.15am and 9.25am in front of Pejabat Pos Laju KKIP Timur, Manggatal.
The charges were under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) 1952 read with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
The offence is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the DDA which provides either the death penalty or life in prison and whipping with a minimum of 15 strokes, upon conviction.
The court fixed April 14 for pre-trial case management and Oct 10-14 for the trial.
The three men who sold second-hand items will be further detained pending disposal of the case as the offence is non-bailable.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Rozana Abdul Hadi prosecuted while counsel P.J. Perira represented the trio. Counsel Dominic Chew appeared on behalf of Perira.
In another High Court, a Filipino, previously charged with drug trafficking, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment plus 10 strokes of the rotan after he pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of drug possession.
Samson Adak, 25, admitted to having 173.02g of syabu on Oct 26, 2018 at about 10.40pm at Pekan Telipok, Manggatal.
The charge was read and explained to Samson in Suluk language by a court interpreter before High Court Judicial Commissioner Leonard David Shim.
Samson, who was represented by counsel P.J. Perira and Ariel Dasan asked for leniency because the accused was remorseful for his actions and wishes to turn over a new leaf.
Perira said the first-time offender was only 21 years old at the time of the offence and had been remanded since his arrest on Oct 26, 2018.
Perira told the court that the accused claimed he had IMM13 document, but it had expired.
In reply, DPP Siti Amirah Muhammad Ali said a heavier sentence ought to be given considering the weight of drugs seized in this case.
"Based on the amount of drugs found, it is safe to suggest that it is not for personal consumption. The amount of drugs in this case is 173.02g of syabu – more than five times the minimum weight for Section 39A(2) and exceeded the minimum weight (50g) of the presumption of trafficking by almost four times," she said.
She added that the case had gone to trial on the original charge of trafficking and three prosecution witnesses had been called.