KOTA KINABALU: In a heartwarming turn of events, a mother of nine burst into tears of joy upon hearing that the Court of Appeal had overturned her death sentence for a drug trafficking conviction. Instead, she was sentenced to 12 years in jail for a lesser charge. Hairun Jalmani, a single mother, had already spent over five years in prison after being sentenced to death by the Tawau High Court on October 15, 2021. She had been found guilty of trafficking 113.9g of syabu under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act. The 62-year-old Filipina was apprehended at a house in Tawau on January 10, 2018.
In a unanimous decision, Court of Appeal judges Datuk Azman Abdullah, Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, and Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said modified the conviction into drug possession under Section 39A(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act and sentenced her accordingly. The Court directed her to begin serving her jail term from the date of her arrest.
Hairun’s legal representatives, Sherzali Herza Asli and Nurul Rafeeqa Afdul Mutolip, had submitted a representation letter to the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) on August 29, urging the overturning of their client’s death sentence and requesting it be replaced with Section 39A(2) of the same Act. They offered pro-bono services to Hairun during the appeal.
On September 6, the AGC responded by expressing their willingness to accept the appellant’s representation. The sentencing under Section 39A(2) of the Act was subsequently approved.
In her plea for mitigation, Hairun’s lawyer, Sherzali, informed the court that she had migrated to Malaysia from the Philippines in search of a better future for her children. He stated that Hairun became the sole provider for her family following her husband’s demise, and the combination of limited job opportunities and her undocumented status led her to commit the offenses.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
