JOHOR BARU: A 34-year-old man escaped the gallows today after the High Court here discharged and acquitted him for a drug trafficking charge five years ago.
Judge Datuk Abu Bakar Katar ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against M. Vijanthran for allegedly distributing 59.43gm of monoacetylmorphine at a parking lot in Taman Nusa Bestari 2, Skudai at 4.25pm on June 23, 2019.
The accused was charged under Section 39(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act which carries the mandatory death penalty.
Abu Bakar, in his judgment, said the defence had succeeded in raising reasonable doubts against the prosecution's case.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Syafiq Mohd Ghazali while Vijanthran was represented by Datuk Shanmugam Ganesan and Nur Syamimi' Izzati Yusoof.