KOTA KINABALU: A 26-year-old man will spend a decade behind bars and be given 10 strokes of the cane for possessing 33.33g of syabu.
The accused admitted to committing the crime before Sessions Court Judge Marlina Ibrahim at 2.15pm on Sept 5, 2022, by the roadside at a junction near Shell Inanam.
He had initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea during the trial.
The Court ordered him to serve his sentence from the date of his arrest.
He was charged under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act and is punishable under Section 39A(2) of the same Act, which carries a penalty of imprisonment between five years and life, along with a minimum of 10 strokes of the cane upon conviction.
During mitigation, the accused represented by counsel Lawrence Lim, requested a lenient sentence, citing his responsibility for two children and expressing remorse for his actions.
Lim informed the court that this was his first offence.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Eugenie Meredith Gilbert urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence on the accused.
