A Filipino national, Sisal Hassan, aged 36, has been sentenced to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane after he was found guilty of trafficking 105.27g of syabu. The verdict was delivered by High Court judge Leonard David Shim on Thursday (Aug 3).
Hassan was convicted under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which specifies the punishment of either the death penalty or life imprisonment and whipping for drug trafficking offences.
Justice Shim stated that the prosecution had successfully proven its case beyond any reasonable doubt. The court found Hassan guilty for the crime committed over three years ago and handed down a life sentence, equivalent to a 30-year jail term under Section 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 1953, along with 12 strokes of the cane.
Furthermore, Justice Shim ruled that the defence had failed to cast any reasonable doubt on whether Hassan was in possession of the drugs. The court held that the defence was unable to counter the statutory presumption of trafficking as per Section 37(da) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, based on the balance of probabilities.
The offence took place on April 11, 2019, by the roadside in Manggatal, a location near Kota Kinabalu. Once his sentence is completed, Hassan will be referred to the Immigration Department. He has been in custody since his arrest and will serve the sentence from April 11, 2019.
Siti Hajar Mazlan, the Deputy Public Prosecutor, represented the prosecution during the trial, while the accused was represented by lawyer Mark Sitiwin.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
