Released from jail, 2 men now face 30-year terms over 264g cannabis
Federal Court restores trafficking conviction after finding Court of Appeal erred in reducing charge to possession.
The Federal Court has reinstated the 30-year jail terms for two men previously released from prison after they were convicted of trafficking 264.36 grams of cannabis. Azril Azhar Ahmad, a 50-year-old Grab driver, and businessman Zulfattar Ridzuan, 44, were found guilty by a three-member bench chaired by Justice Rhodzariah Bujang.
The Court of Appeal had previously substituted the trafficking charge with possession due to the small amount of cannabis found. However, Justice Lee Swee Seng ruled that the Court of Appeal erred in doing so, as the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 presumes trafficking for 200g or more of cannabis. Evidence of drug-trafficking equipment was also found in the car, including a digital weighing scale and plastic packets.
The Federal Court has restored the original 30-year sentence and 12 strokes of the rotan, which was backdated to their arrest on September 26, 2020. Azril, who will not be caned, was represented by Hasnan Hamzah and Qushwa Hasnan, while Zulfattar, who will undergo the 12 strokes, was represented by Jaspal Singh Mann and Pramjit Kaur.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Released from jail, 2 men now face 30-year terms over 264g cannabis freemalaysiatoday.com
