KUALA LUMPUR: A man and his Vietnamese girlfriend have been sentenced by the High Court to 30 years in jail after they were found guilty of trafficking 173kg of methamphetamine four years ago.
Justice Nurulhuda Nur’aini Mohamad Nor handed the sentence to fisherman Adam Tan Seng Tek, 34, and Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh, 33, after ruling that the couple failed to raise reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.The court ordered the jail time to run from the date of arrest on Feb 24, 2022, and Tan to get 12 strokes of the rotan.
In her judgment, Justice Nurulhuda said the prosecution had successfully established the elements of possession and knowledge through direct evidence, giving rise to the statutory presumption of trafficking.
She said one basis for calling the defence was the screenshots and photos of personal effects – a blanket and a red box – found in the same room where the boxes containing drugs were placed.“During the defence, the accused admitted that the black-and-white striped cloth (the blanket) and the red box belonged to them,” she said.
“In the circumstances, this court finds that the defence has failed to raise a reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case or rebut the statutory presumption of trafficking.
“This court is satisfied that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt,” the judge said.
Tan and Nguyen were charged with trafficking 172,741.10g of methamphetamine at a condominium unit in Residensi Kiara Jalil 1 at 9.30pm on Feb 24, 2022.
The charge, framed under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, carries the death penalty or life imprisonment. If not sentenced to death, the accused face whipping of at least 15 strokes.
