SHAH ALAM: Three men have been acquitted and discharged by the High Court here on charges of trafficking more than 96kg of drugs into the country.
Justice Dr Wendy Ooi Su Ghee made the ruling on Tuesday (Jan 13) after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie against Muhammad Amiruddin Abd Hadi, 30, V. Vijandran Nair, 35, and Muhammad Faiz Ahmad, 36, at the end of its case.
She said there were serious weaknesses in the case presented by the prosecution against the three accused.
In the brief judgment, she said there were contradictions in the testimony of the prosecution witnesses, particularly regarding the identification of the case items and the number of boxes of drugs seized.
"The court also took note of the failure of the police to submit photographs during the seizure, in addition to the failure to submit the original closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.
"In addition, the investigating officer failed to examine the evidence presented by the accused, thereby undermining the credibility of the prosecution’s case and prejudicing the defence.
"As such, the three accused are acquitted and discharged without being called to enter their defence," Justice Ooi said.
The three men were jointly charged with trafficking methamphetamine, weighing 96,700.3g, near a house in Taman Batu Caves, Gombak, at about 3pm on Aug 6, 2021.
The charge, framed under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same law, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, provides for the death sentence or life imprisonment if convicted. – Bernama
