Former P-Hailing Delivery Rider Sentenced to 30 Years’ Jail, 12 Strokes of the Cane for Drug Trafficking

AYER KEROH: A former p-hailing delivery rider was sentenced to 30 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane by the Ayer Keroh High Court here yesterday after being found guilty of trafficking 684 grammes of methamphetamine five years ago.

Judge Datuk DJP Suria Kumar handed down the sentence to Muhammad Nadhir Zailany, 31, after the defence failed to raise reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.

He said the defence had raised several issues, including the prosecution’s failure to call an individual known as “Hafiz”, whom the accused claimed was the actual owner of the drugs.

Other issues raised included the accused having passed through six police roadblocks without encountering any problems until reaching Ayer Keroh, the failure to call Inspector Hasif as a witness, and the investigating officer’s failure to conduct a reconstruction involving the black Kenzo Paris crossbody bag.

Suria said the evidence showed that the accused was arrested with the drugs inside a bag worn across his body, while no supporting evidence had been presented to establish that Hafiz was the actual owner of the bag.

“The prosecution’s failure to call Hafiz as a witness did not undermine the testimony of the fourth and fifth prosecution witnesses, who saw the bag containing the drugs on the accused’s body, demonstrating that he had control, knowledge and possession of the drugs.

“The accused drove a Proton Preve for almost 15 hours from Kota Warisan to Sentul before heading towards the Ayer Keroh Toll Plaza, with the bag worn across his body. He was also the sole occupant of the vehicle when it was stopped,” he said while delivering his oral judgment at the conclusion of the defence case yesterday.

Suria said the fact that the accused had passed through six police roadblocks and cooperated with the police did not mean he was unaware of the bag’s contents.

He said the court found that the accused had used a forged document, namely an employment verification letter, to deceive authorities checking inter-district or interstate travel permits during the Movement Control Order (MCO) enforced at the time.

“The court finds it difficult to believe the accused’s testimony that he was unaware of the bag’s presence in the car and only discovered it after police found it, considering that he had been using the vehicle from 6.30 am until 9 pm on the day of the incident,” he said.

The court also found inconsistencies in the accused’s testimony, including his claim that Hafiz had instructed him to transport scrap metal to Kota Warisan, an allegation that had not been raised during the prosecution’s case, as well as conflicting accounts regarding where the bag was found.

“After evaluating all the evidence presented by the prosecution and defence, as well as the credibility of the accused and witnesses, the court finds that the defence failed to rebut the presumption of drug trafficking and did not raise any reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case,” he said.

The court considered the mitigation arguments, including the accused’s relatively young age, the quantity of drugs involved and his remorse, before sentencing him to 30 years’ imprisonment, effective from the date of his arrest on June 9, 2021, and 12 strokes of the cane.

The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Azfar Mahmod, while the accused was represented by lawyers C Aiswarya Devi and S Ruben Raj.

Earlier, the defence lawyers appealed for the minimum prison sentence and number of strokes to be imposed, citing several factors, including their client’s six years in remand, his lack of a previous criminal record and his asthma condition.

Berita Harian