Man gets life sentence, whipping for drug trafficking

SHAH ALAM - A man escaped the death penalty when the High Court here yesterday sentenced him to life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane after being found guilty of drug trafficking three years ago.

Judge Dr Suzana Muhamad Said handed down the sentence to Muhammad Irsyad Adzha, 33, after finding that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt at the end of its case.

Muhammad Irsyad was accused of trafficking 495.20 grammes of cannabis in front of a restaurant in Bandar Baru Bangi, Hulu Langat, on February 11, 2020.

The charge under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 carries the death penalty under Section 39(2) of the same act upon conviction.

Earlier, the accused’s lawyer Datuk Naran Singh, appealed for his client not to be sentenced to death as he was young and had a wife and young child.

"Although the court can exercise its discretion in sentencing, it must look at the facts of the case.

"Consider the type of drug or its weight, and since this is his first offence, it is unreasonable to impose the death penalty; it will be illogical,” he said.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohammed Heikal Ismail objected to this on the grounds that a heavy sentence would be a deterrent to society. - BERNAMA