KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court Thursday (April 10) imposed the death penalty on two Pakistani nationals after they were found guilty of trafficking 191.28kg of ketamine six years ago.
Judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid meted out the sentence on Abdul Wahab, 60, and Muhammad Rafiq, 52, after determining that the defence had failed to raise a reasonable doubt at the end of their case.
"The sentence is death by hanging," said the judge.
During Thursday’s proceedings, deputy public prosecutors from the Customs Department, Syazwani Zawawi and Muhammad Amin Azmi, appeared for the prosecution, while the two accused were represented by lawyers A. Venkateswari and A. Rajee.
A total of 19 prosecution witnesses and six defence witnesses, including the two accused, testified during the trial, which commenced in 2020.
On the first and second charges, the men were jointly accused of trafficking 126.502kg and 63.79kg of ketamine, respectively, at two premises located in Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Dang Wangi, and Taman Teluk Gedung Indah, Klang, between 4.30pm and 10.30pm on March 25, 2019.
They were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which mandates the death penalty.
Abdul Wahab faced an additional count of trafficking 987.6 gm of ketamine at the same location, date, and time, under the same section. - Bernama
