Cop lied, so court frees Korean student of cannabis trafficking charge

SEREMBAN: A High Court here acquitted and discharged a 20-year-old South Korean student of a drug trafficking charge after a police officer admitted that he had lied during cross examination.

Judge Abu Bakar Jais freed Kim Yun Soung after the prosecution decided not to continue with the case.

“After taking into account submissions by both parties, I hereby acquit and discharge the accused,” the judge said.

Kim was charged with trafficking 219g of cannabis at an apartment in Bandar Baru Nilai on Oct 19 last year. The charge carries the mandatory death sentence.

Earlier, DPP Rahimah Abd Majid told the court the prosecution had decided against pursuing the case and the accused be given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

However, Kim’s counsel Gobind Singh Deo argued that his client should be acquitted and discharged of the offence.

“Also, my client has been in remand for almost one year. The capital charge cannot be left hanging over his head,” he said.

Gobind said the fact that the 27-year-old police officer, who led the raid at the apartment, had admitted to lying in court proved that he was not a credible witness.

“He brazenly lied. It was only after we challenged and told him that we would initiate contempt proceedings against him as we had evidence he was lying, did he admit to it,” he said.

In last week's court proceedings, the inspector had admitted that he lied despite being asked several times if there was anyone else with the 10-member raiding team when they raided Kim’s apartment.

He had even maintained that there was no one else with the police team when the defence said they had a CCTV recording which showed there was another individual in handcuffs present.