Indian national escapes gallows, gets five years jail for drug possession

PUTRAJAYA: An Indian national escaped the gallows after the Court of Appeal here, on Wednesday (March 1), set aside his conviction on the charge of trafficking 5.5kg of ketamine, six years ago.

However, T. Murugesan, 38, was convicted of the charge of possessing the drug, and the court sentenced him to five years in prison.

A three-judge panel, led by Judge Hanipah Farikullah, unanimously made the decision after lawyer Sangeet Kaur, representing Murugesan, informed the court that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) accepted a representation to waive the death sentence for trafficking, to possessing the drug.

"The court took note of the representation and, after considering the mitigation of the appellant (Murugesan) and the respondent (prosecution), the court sentenced the appellant to five years in prison starting from the date of his arrest on May 21, 2017,” said Judge Hanipah, sitting on the panel with Judge Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and See Mee Chun.

According to the charge, Murugesan was charged with possessing 5.5kg of ketamine at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Arrival Hall, at 7.40am, on May 21, 2017.

The charge was framed under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, and punishable under Section 12(3) of the same law, which provides for a maximum fine of RM100,000 or a maximum imprisonment of five years, or both.

During mitigation, Sangeet said that his client, who is married with two children, had been in prison for five years and 10 months.

"My client is from Tamil Nadu and he has come to Malaysia to work and earn an income,” he said.

On Jan 8, 2020, the Shah Alam High Court sentenced Murugesan to death, after he was found guilty of trafficking 5.5kg of ketamine at the KLIA Arrival Hall on May 21, 2017. - Bernama