PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court here has upheld a 30-year prison sentence and 12 strokes of the cane imposed on a self-employed man convicted of trafficking in 755.4g of methamphetamine.
A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Nordin Hassan, Datuk Hanipah Farikullah and Datuk Lee Swee Seng dismissed Loh Fung Nian's final appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Justice Nordin, who chaired the bench, held that the issues raised by the defence were insufficient to overturn the prosecution's case, which had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
"We find the conviction is safe. The conviction and sentence are upheld," he said.
Loh, 36, was initially sentenced to death by the High Court in Shah Alam on Nov 21, 2021, after he was found guilty of trafficking the drugs. The offence was committed at the International departure area, level 3, of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, (KLIA2) in Sepang, Selangor at 12.27pm on May 15, 2019.
On May 2, 2024, the Court of Appeal dismissed Loh's appeal against his conviction but allowed his appeal to commute his death sentence to a 30-year imprisonment term with 12 strokes of the cane. His sentence took effect from the date of his arrest on May 15, 2019.
According to the facts of the case, on the day of the incident, a body search by a policeman on duty in front of Gate Q departure lounge, KLIA2, found a bulge on both of Loh's thighs, prompting the authorities to escort him to a room for further inspection.
There, he was asked to remove his trousers, revealing plastic packets secured to his inner thighs with adhesive tape, along with an additional packet hidden in his underwear. The packets contained crystalline substances suspected to be methamphetamine. He was subsequently arrested.
Loh, in his defence, said he was an innocent carrier with no knowledge of the drugs.
He said he had befriended a man named Jeff, who invited him to seek work in Korea. Jeff allegedly introduced him to an agent named Kent, who offered them factory jobs.
Loh claimed that Kent and another unidentified man later asked him to deliver packages to another agent, assuring him that the contents were not illegal. He said he was told to conceal the items to avoid paying taxes. – Bernama
