JOHOR BARU: It is a special Ramadan for two men who escaped the gallows after the Johor Baru High Court acquitted and discharged them of a drug trafficking charge.
Muhammad Aufa Bonadi, 28, and Abbas Ahmad, 35, walked out of the court after judge Kan Weng Hin ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against them.
The duo were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for allegedly distributing about 32kg of methamphetamine.
They were accused of committing the offence using a boat near a homestay at Telok Sengat, Kota Tinggi on May 22, 2020.
In his remarks, Kan said there was no nexus between the boat and the two accused.
He said the homestay was rented to an Indonesian in March while the two accused rented it in May.
"The boat had been left in an open space since around March 18, just before the Covid-19 movement control order was imposed.
“Anyone could have had access to the boat as it had been left there for two months,” he said, adding there was also no evidence that the two accused were in the area.
Kan also cited several other grounds for his judgment, including the prosecution's failure to identify and retrieve information from three confiscated phones.
"Based on the maximum evaluation of the evidence and testimonies that I have heard, I find that the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case against the two accused.
"I hereby acquit and discharge both accused," Kan said at the High Court here on Friday (March 14).
Muhammad Aufa was represented by lawyer Fairuz Elias Majid while Abbas was represented by Datin Freda Sabapathy and K. Sarawana Kumar.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Umar Faiz Kohar prosecuted the case.
