KUALA LUMPUR: A retired diplomat and his son linked to a Janda Baik marijuana farm have been hauled to court to face drug charges, including trafficking in more than 1kg of cannabis.
Datuk Zainal Abidin Alias, 78, and his son Mohamed Rizal, 53, were both jointly charged with two offences at a Magistrate’s Court in Bentong yesterday.
Both the father and son were charged together with trafficking 1,020g of cannabis at Lot 5718 (Bayu Bukit Hijau), Kampung Sum Sum Hilir, Janda Baik, Bentong, Pahang, at 6.10pm on May 21.
The charge under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 carries the mandatory death sentence.
They were also jointly charged with having in their possession, 60ml of cannabis oil at the same place and time.
The charge under Section 9(1)(b) of the same Act carries an imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to RM20,000 or both, if convicted.
Day in court: Zainal Abidin (left) and his son Mohamed Rizal were charged before magistrate Shahrul Ekhsan Hashim.
Mohamed Rizal also faced a third charge under Section 15(1)(a) of the Act 1952 where he allegedly misused THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis).
He is accused of committing the offence at the narcotics office of the Bentong district police headquarters at 8.40pm on May 23.
If convicted, Mohamed Rizal faces a maximum fine of RM5,000 or a jail term of up to two years.
No plea was recorded for the drug trafficking offence.
For the other offences, Zainal Abidin and Mohamed Rizal pleaded not guilty.
The court was also informed that representation letters by the defence had been sent to the Attorney General’s Chambers on Thursday.
The prosecution was led by state prosecution director Mohammad Khalid Ab Karim while both the accused were represented by lawyers Rahmat Hazlan, Tania Scivetti and Kamil Azman.
Magistrate Shahrul Ekhsan Hashim fixed June 13 for mention.
