SHAH ALAM: A retired soldier known as “Dr Ganja” has been spared the death penalty by the High Court, as they have amended the charges against him. Captain (R) Amiruddin @ Nadarajan Abdullah, 64, was originally facing 16 charges for trafficking 77.48493kg and 14.647 litres of drugs. However, the charges have been reduced to possession.
In addition to the drug trafficking charges, Amiruddin faced 18 counts of cultivating marijuana plants, four counts of possessing marijuana, and one count of ingesting the drug.
High Court Judge Julia Ibrahim has sentenced Amiruddin to nine years in prison for a total of 39 charges. These offenses took place at a house in Kampung Delek Dalam, Klang at 12.30pm on May 26, 2017.
The charges against Amiruddin were made under Section 6 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, as well as Sections 39A(1), 39A(2), and 15(1)(a) of the same Act.
Amiruddin has been handed five years imprisonment for each of the charges under Section 6 and Section 39A(1), nine years for the Section 39A(2) offense, and six months for the one under Section 15(1)(a).
Judge Julia has ordered the sentences to run concurrently, starting from the date of his arrest on May 26, 2017. It has been decided that Amiruddin will be released from prison today, as he has already served a third of his sentence.
In her final judgement, Judge Julia acknowledged that as a former army personnel, Amiruddin was undoubtedly aware of the existence of the Dangerous Drugs Act. However, she noted that he resorted to using marijuana as an alternative treatment for his ailment. She stressed that this should serve as a deterrent to others with similar intentions.
The trial included a total of 17 prosecution witnesses and five defense witnesses. The proceedings began on April 8, 2019.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin led the prosecution, while Amiruddin was represented by lawyers Sangeet Kaur Deo and Pravin Mahentharan. – Bernama
Credit: The Star : News Feed
