PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal on Tuesday (April 29) upheld the sentence of life imprisonment and whipping imposed by the High Court on six individuals convicted for trafficking 7.58kg of methamphetamine at the KL International Airport Terminal 2 (KLIA2) in 2018.
A three-judge panel chaired by Justices Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, Collin Lawrence Sequerah, and Azmi Ariffin dismissed the appeal, ruling that there were no merits.
The court also affirmed the High Court's decision to impose 15 strokes of the cane on Lo Wei Ryh, 33; Mak Kwong Ming, 48; Yap Fook Chen, 31; Joon Zheng Han, 28; and two others who were teenagers at the time of their arrest.
Justice Ruzima, delivering the unanimous verdict, said the trial judge made no error in inferring that the appellants knew they were carrying prohibited drugs, based on their own cautioned statements.
"The defence of innocent carrier does not favour the appellants. They failed to make sufficient inquiries about the items, as required by law," he said.
The court also rejected a request from the appellants to reduce the number of strokes from 15 to 12.
According to the facts of the case, the drugs were strapped to the appellants' thighs and hidden inside the soles of their shoes when they were arrested by auxiliary police at KLIA2 during a security screening.
The appellants, in their defence, claimed they had accepted part-time job offers from a man known only as "The Company" to deliver packages to South Korea and were told the items were not dangerous drugs but were gym supplements or clenbuterol which is banned in South Korea.
In July last year, the High Court convicted them for trafficking in the drugs at the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division Office, KLIA2, Sepang, Selangor on Aug 11, 2018. They were sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane.
In Tuesday's proceedings at the Court of Appeal, lawyer Kitson Foong and Chew Jee San represented the then teenagers, while lawyer Muhamad Izwan Ishak acted for Yap. Meanwhile, lawyer Ahmad Ishrakh Saad represented Joon while lawyer Goh Cia Yee represented Low and Mak.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz appeared for the prosecution. - Bernama
