'Innocent' pleads guilty to drug possession

PUTRAJAYA: A Nigerian man escaped the gallows after the Court of Appeal here set aside his conviction on two counts of trafficking 1.26kg of cocaine and cannabis.

However, Ngonadi Chibuzor Innocent, 44, as the appellant was convicted of possessing the drugs and was sentenced to 12 years in prison and 20 strokes of the rotan.

A three-judge panel led by Judge Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said unanimously made the decision on Thursday (Feb 9) after lawyer Afifuddin Ahmad Hafifi, representing the appellant, informed that the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) had accepted Ngonadi Chibuzor's representation to set aside the death sentence and substitute the drug trafficking charge to drug possession.

"After deliberating, the appellant is sentenced to 12 years in prison and 10 strokes of the rotan for each count, " said Judge Kamaludin who sat on the panel with Judges Datuk Supang Lian and Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin.

The prison sentence was to run from the date of arrest on Sept 12, 2017.

Innocent was charged with two counts of possessing cocaine and cannabis, each weighing 93.1g and 1,170g at two separate locations in Gombak here at 11am and 11.20am on Sept 12, 2017.

The charges were framed under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, and can be punished under Section 39A(2) of the same law, and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code which carries a life sentence or not less than five years imprisonment and a maximum of 10 strokes of the rotan.

On Nov 13, 2019, the Shah Alam High Court sentenced Ngonadi Chibuzor to death by hanging after he was found guilty of drug trafficking according to Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor K. Mangai. – Bernama