Mother, daughter shed tears of joy after being freed from drug trafficking charges
28 Jun 2023 08:10pm
Picture for illustrative purposes - FILE PIX
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Judge Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid acquitted Sharon Farnell, 52, and her daughter, Theresa Kennedy, 26, on the charge at the end of the prosecution's case.
"The court is satisfied that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case, therefore the first and second accused are acquitted," he said.
Mohd Radzi said the court found that the two accused did not have control and knowledge about the drugs in their business premises.
"The prosecution also could not prove the element of drug possession against the two accused, while the possibility that there were people who had access to the shop cannot be ruled out," he said.
Sharon and Theresa were charged with trafficking 280.7 grams of cannabis at a premises in Jalan Laksamana Melaka, in the Melaka Tengah District at 4 pm, April 24, 2019.
The charge framed under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment, or a minimum of 15 whippings, if convicted.
The prosecution was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Azizah Yusof while the accused was represented by lawyer Haresh Mahadevan.
Eight prosecution witnesses were called to testify at the trial which began on Sept 18, 2019 - BERNAMA
