KOTA KINABALU: Four Johoreans have been given the death penalty after they were found guilty of trafficking 34, 282.3 grams of drugs while travelling into Sandakan in 2020.
High Court Judge Datuk Celestine Stuel Galid delivered the verdict following the conviction of Chu Shan Yuen, 22, Liew Zheng Da, 24, Fong Wei Hong, 26 and Meng De Xuan, 23, under Section 39B Dangerous Drug Act 1952.
The judge handed the sentence after listening to mitigation from both sides.
"After hearing submissions from both parties, the court noted the substantial quantity of drugs, the severity of the offence, and taking into account public interest in combating drug trafficking,” she said.
According to the charge, the RM2.08mil worth of drugs were found by the Customs that were separately concealed in each of their luggage upon arrival at the Sandakan airport on June 23, 2020.
They had arrived on a commercial flight from Kuala Lumpur.
At the time of their arrest, Chu, aged 18 then, possessed 8.6899 grams of drugs; Liew, aged 20, carried 8.158 grams; Fong, aged 22, had 8.5237 grams, while Meng, aged 19, was found with 8.9116 grams.
Royal Customs Department deputy prosecutor Nabilla Najjeeha Najmuddin prosecuted while the four were represented by lawyer Dominic Chew.
