Odd-job worker freed of drug charge vows never to return to jail

MELAKA: A 27-year-old man has vowed that he will never return to jail after escaping the gallows.

A. Uvaraj (pic) from Bukit Baru here said during his four years in the Sungai Udang Prison, it felt like time had stood still.

“It was the darkest period of my life. I lost my freedom and dignity,” he said.

Uvaraj, who was an odd-job worker, said the imprisonment was a harsh life lesson for him, and that he had brought shame to his family.

“I will do my best to stay out of trouble and will not step in there again,” he said, expressing his gratitude to his two brothers for their constant support.

Uvaraj is now planning to work as a motorcycle mechanic.

“I want to open my own business when I’ve saved enough money,” he said in an interview.

He admitted that it was tough to return to society after being confined in the prison cell for four years.

Earlier at the High Court in Ayer Keroh here, Uvaraj and a friend, 37, walked out free after they were acquitted and discharged of drug-trafficking offences.

The pair faced three charges each for trafficking 198g of methamphetamine, 39g of heroin and 540g of cannabis under Section 39B (2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Justice Mohd Abdul Radzi Abdul Hamid ruled that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case.

Based on facts submitted to the court, the drugs were found inside an apartment in Jalan Bukit Baru here at about 10pm on April 26, 2019.

Justice Mohd Abdul Radzi said the defence managed to create a reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.

He said the drugs were found inside a room in the apartment as well as inside a locked rack outside the unit, where the keys to the room and the rack were found inside a car belonging to another person.

“Five people were arrested on April 26, 2019, while Uvaraj was only arrested on May 8 of the same year and the arrest raises doubt.

“When the police came to the unit, Uvaraj was not there,” he added.

Uvaraj was represented by counsel Ranjit Singh Sandhu.