PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today upheld the 30-year imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane sentence imposed on two friends convicted of distributing nearly 10 kg of drugs in a car five years ago.
A panel of three judges led by Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail unanimously rejected the appeal of Mohd Khairul Azwan Zakaria, 37, and Bhahira Fakri, 43, to set aside the conviction and sentence handed down by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Feb 16, 2023.
In her judgment, Judge Hadhariah stated that the failure to call the owner of the car (Honda Accord) to testify did not create a loophole in the prosecution's case because the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of the appellants were found on the cloth inside the boot of the car.
"This means that the appellants had access to the car, and the drugs were not concealed; the appellants also fled when the police attempted to arrest them.
"According to the footage from closed-circuit television, the appellants used the car for two days. Therefore, the failure to call the car owner cannot raise inferences contradicting the prosecution's case," said Judge Hadhariah, who presided alongside Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin.
She said the court did not see breaks in the evidence chain as the items in the case had been marked, and there was no dispute regarding the matter.
"In our opinion, the case items submitted in court are those seized from the car. Therefore, the conviction stands, the appellants' appeal is dismissed and the conviction and sentence by the High Court are upheld," she added.
Lawyers Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, appearing for Mohd Khairul Azwan and Muhammad Hafizuddin Salehuddin representing Bhahira, as well as Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohd Fuad Abdul Aziz and Ng Siew Wee, attended the proceedings.
Mohd Khairul Azwan and Bhahira were jointly accused of distributing 9573.1g of heroin and 115.5 g of Monoacetylmorphine inside a Honda Accord car in the parking area in front of an eatery at Publika 1, Jalan Dutamas 1, Solaris Dutamas in Kuala Lumpur, at 11.40 am on June 20, 2019.
The charges were framed under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952, which carries penalties under Section 39B(2) of the same Act, and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code that provides for the death penalty or life imprisonment.– BERNAMA