‘Superman vision’ claim doesn’t fly


JOHOR BARU: A High Court judge has taken a swipe at the testimony of a police officer, saying he must have had “superman vision” to be able to view a drug transaction that took place 1.9km away along a curved road.

The policeman must have a world record for having such vision, said judicial commissioner Kan Weng Hin.

He also ticked off the investigation, saying it was shoddy and that he found “fatal discrepancies” in the sketch plan and statements of three witnesses, who were all police personnel including the investigating officer.

Kan made the remarks yesterday when delivering his judgment on two men who had been charged under Section 39B(1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

He discharged and acquitted Abdullah Jaafar, 50, and Mohamad Sofrifaizal Moin, 45, saying both of them should be released immediately.

He said the prosecution had failed to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt.

“This whole prosecution story has issues. The prosecution has a duty to ensure the truth comes out as this is a serious matter,” he said, adding that both the accused would have faced at least 30 years’ imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane.

He pointed out that two prosecution witnesses, who were recalled at the defence stage, had agreed that there were discrepancies when they testified during the trial.

Free men: (From second left) Abdullah and Mohamad Sofrifaizal with their lawyers Salmi Hamdan (left) and Vijaya Retnam at the Johor Baru High Court. — THOMAS YONG/The StarFree men: (From second left) Abdullah and Mohamad Sofrifaizal with their lawyers Salmi Hamdan (left) and Vijaya Retnam at the Johor Baru High Court. — THOMAS YONG/The Star

Abdullah, an odd-job labourer and Mohamad, a fisherman, were charged with trafficking 1.433kg of methamphetamine by the roadside in Kampung Permas Kelapa, Pontian at about 3.30pm on Dec 14, 2020.

The prosecution called five witnesses while the defence brought in three witnesses including someone who measured the distance between the policeman and the transaction, which is said to have taken place at an oil palm estate.

Abdullah was represented by lawyer Salmi Hamdan Sabran while Mohamad Sofrifaizal’s lawyer was S. Vijaya Retnam.

Both defence lawyers were appointed by the court.

The deputy public prosecutor was Umar Faiz Abdul Kahar.

Both men along with their families wept as soon as the judgment was delivered.

They thanked their lawyers and said that they were happy their nightmare was finally over after five years.

“I hope to go back and meet my family in Pontian and rebuild my life, which I have lost for the past five years,” Abdullah said.

He said that both of them had almost given up hope and thought they would end up in prison for 30 years.

According to Abdullah, he would be using this second chance in life to spend more time with his family and be a better person.

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