Friends in tow: The group of 11 being brought to the Johor Baru court complex.
JOHOR BARU: Two underage boys and their nine friends have been charged at a Magistrate’s Court here for distributing drugs weighing more than 19.4kg.
Aged between 17 and 32, they were accused of distributing 18.9kg of methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), 558g of ketamine and 52g of nimetazepam in a house in Jalan Bukit Skudai 6, Taman Bukit Skudai here at around 2am on Sept 23.
The accused are Yek Zhu Jie, 19; How Jia Lerk, 23; Kenny Loo Yee Han, 24; Tan Chee Seng, 21; Chong Chew Nam, 32; and Ooi Zhi Wei, 27. Additionally, there are three women involved in the case, namely Eva Chua Min, aged 19; Goh Yoong Cheng, aged 30; and Phang Jing Yi, aged 22.
The two 17-year-old juveniles, whose names were not revealed as they are underage, were also charged together in court yesterday.
A court interpreter read out the charge sheet to them in Mandarin.
All 11 said they understood the charges and punishment.
They were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act.
If found guilty, the accused could face a death sentence or lifetime imprisonment.
And if the person is given a death sentence, he or she could be whipped at least 15 times.
No plea was recorded.
Magistrate A. Shaarmini fixed Nov 2 for the next mention and the submission of the chemist’s reports.
No bail was granted as a specific provision in the Act does not allow consideration of such an application.
The prosecution was represented by deputy public prosecutor Shamira Mohd Luthfi Ismail.
One of the accused, How, was represented by lawyer Chew Pong Him, while Chua and Chong were represented by Datin Freda Sabapathy and Muhammad Mohd Nasir, respectively.
The rest were unrepresented.
