Married couple, friend escape the gallows after High Court acquits them of drug trafficking

SEREMBAN: Three people, including a couple, escaped the gallows after the High Court here acquitted them for a drug trafficking charge.

In his judgement here on Wednesday (April 14), Judge Azizul Azmi Adnan said the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against crane driver P. Sivaprakash, his wife S. Thulasy, both 49, and their friend, a contract worker, G. Chandran, 40.

“Having perused all the evidence and submissions by both parties, I hereby rule that the prosecution has failed to prove on a maximum evaluation, a prima facie case against all three accused, and I hereby acquit and discharge them, ” he said.

The three were charged with trafficking 25.8g of heroin and monoacetylmorphine at their home at the Sikamat New Village here at 12.30pm on Feb 3,2019.

The suspects were charged under Section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty, when read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

According to the facts of the case, a raiding party found the drugs hidden in the ceiling of the couple’s rented house.

The three, who were in the house, were subsequently detained. Two of the couple’s four children were also at home during the raid.

Lawyer Datuk Hanif Hasan represented Thulasy, Haresh Mahadevan and Ramzani Idris appeared for Sivaprakash, while Jamal Abbas was counsel for Chandran, in the case prosecuted by Noor Aishyah Ahmad.