MUAR: An Indonesian man, who had stayed at a friend's house the day before boarding a ferry to Indonesia five years ago, has been acquitted alongside his Malaysian friend from charges of alleged drug trafficking.
Both faced a mandatory death penalty.
Malaysian Mohd Shah Baba, 49, and Indonesian Zamri Dalit, 51, embraced each other in tears as the High Court here acquitted them on Monday (Oct 21) without calling for their defence.
The two men were arrested on July 23, 2019.
Judicial Commissioner D. Suria Kumar stated in his judgment that the prosecution failed to prove that both accused were exclusively in custody and control of the drugs found in a room at a house on Jalan Junid here at 11.35am.
He noted the possibility of access by a third party to the room, and the prosecution could not specify who else had keys to the house.
Both were charged under Section 39B (1)(a) and 39B (2) of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952 after being found with 1.53kg of methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA).
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Sulehan Abd Rahman led the prosecution, while Mohd Shah was defended by lawyers Haresh Mahadevan and Ramzani Idris.
Zamri was represented by lawyers Selvi Sandrasegaran and Ho Zhi Qian.
