In Sabah’s largest drug smuggling syndicate, one of the 11 accused, Mahathir Jibarail, 49, told the Sessions Court in Kota Kinabalu that he cannot afford a lawyer to represent him. When asked if he wanted a lawyer, Mahathir said, “I can’t afford a lawyer.”
Datuk Maslan Sani, 41, the alleged kingpin of the “Gang Upik”group, was also unrepresented when the charges were read out in the same court. However, he mentioned that he was represented by a lawyer when he was in Kuala Lumpur.
The charges were read to him without a lawyer present, and he confirmed that he understood the charges. The other four accused also stated that they did not have counsel.
Five other accused had legal representation, including counsel Mohd Amirul Amin for Jaysalfian Jaineh@Zaini, lawyer Sylyester Kuan for Mohd Fauzie Rablin, and lawyers Shahlan Jufri and Mohd Lokman Zabidi for Shahlan Shah Abdul Samad, Mohd Faridzul Asmahadi, and Fazrul Bahar.
All 11 were charged under Section 130V (1) of the Penal Code for being members of a criminal organisation between early 2015 and Dec 24, 2023. The case is set to be mentioned on March 1 before being transferred to the High Court, and no pleas were recorded from any of the accused.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Nazran Mohd Sham, Siti Hajar Mat Radzi, and Nur Ainaa Ridzuan represented the prosecution.
