Man escapes life jail as court sets aside drug trafficking convictions
PUTRAJAYA: A 45-year-old man has escaped life imprisonment for trafficking more than 6.5kg of cannabis after the Court of Appeal ruled that the prosecution’s failure to call two key witnesses had raised doubts over his involvement in the offence.
A 45-year-old man, Azzam Nor Akmal, has avoided a life sentence after the Court of Appeal overturned his drug trafficking convictions. The court determined that the prosecution's failure to call two crucial witnesses had cast doubt on his alleged involvement. Azzam was initially sentenced to 12 years in prison and 10 strokes of the cane for each charge, with the sentences running concurrently.
However, the Court of Appeal substituted these convictions with drug possession offences and sentenced him to 12 years in prison, with the two terms to run simultaneously. The justices emphasized that while the prosecution proved Azzam possessed the drugs, they failed to prove he exercised independent control over them for trafficking purposes.
The court noted that the prosecution did not call Nuriyati or Norianti, who was present in Azzam's BMW when drugs were seized, and Arwin Syazuanshah, who was arrested in connection with a cannabis-related offence and could have provided crucial information. The court ruled that Azzam's claim of merely storing the drugs on behalf of others was not substantiated due to the prosecution's failure to present these witnesses.
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