SIBU: A 40-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court here for drug trafficking.
In convicting Jeffry Lepa of the crime on Friday (Jan 30), Justice Wong Siong Tung also ordered that the accused be given 12 strokes of the cane.
The prison term is to take effect from the date of Jeffry's arrest, Nov 26, 2022.
Jeffrey was charged with trafficking 75.52g of methamphetamine under Section 39B (1) of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952, punishable under Section 39B(2).
According to the facts of the case, a police team acting on intelligence arrested Jeffry at a food court at 3pm on the day in question.
The drugs were found in his car, which was in a parking lot on Lorong Tun Ahmad Zaidi.
DPP Mark Netto pressed for the death penalty, arguing that the accused was involved in an organised chain of drug trafficking.
He also said that public interest has to be taken into consideration as "drug cases in Sarawak have now reached epidemic proportions" and that the trial not only incurred a significant cost to the public but also took up precious judicial time.
