South African sentenced to death for meth trafficking

GEORGE TOWN: A South African man has been sent to the gallows after he was found guilty of trafficking in close to 2kg of methamphetamine about two years ago.

Deon Jacobus Alfred Cornelius, 28, seemed calm when Judicial Commissioner Datuk Nordin Hassan meted out the death sentence.

He was found guilty of trafficking in 1,949gm of the drugs at the arrival hall of the Penang International Airport at 11.40am on Oct 4, 2013.

The offence under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39B(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

In his judgment, Nordin ruled that the defence has failed in raising a reasonable doubt to the prosecution's case against Deon.

He said the prosecution has managed to prove that Deon, who worked as a bodyguard in South Africa, has knowledge and possession of the drugs, which was found in a laptop bag.

Nordin added that it also "devoid any logic" for Deon to trust Tony, whom Deon claimed to have asked the latter to pass his laptop bag to a friend in Penang, as both men had only known each other for a few months and had met about 4 times at Tony's house.

"Deon who saw Tony putting the laptop bag containing the drugs in his luggage should aroused suspicion and prompt him to examine the bag.

"His willful blindness only supported the strong inference that he has knowledge of the drugs," he added.