Babutsa being led out of the court after the decision yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: A Georgian woman escaped the hangman’s noose after the prosecution yesterday tendered a lesser charge against her in the High Court, which sentenced her to eight years’ jail for possessing 1,710.3 grams of syabu or methamphetamine.
Justice Datuk David Wong Dak Wah passed the sentence after Babutsa Gordadze, 26, pleaded guilty to the alternative charge of possessing the psycho-stimulant drug in a hotel room in Menggatal on October 25, 2010.
The charge under Section 39A (2) (r) of the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) 1952 carries life imprisonment or a term not less than five years and whipping.
Babutsa, who was originally charged with drug trafficking under Section 39B (1) (a) of the DDA 1952, which provides for the mandatory death sentence upon conviction, was ordered to serve her sentence from the date of her arrest on October 25, 2010.
The alternative charge against Babutsa was tendered by senior federal counsel Jamil Aripin, which was later read out in Georgian language by Irakli Chilingarashvili, head of the Department of Legal Affairs of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office, Ministry of Justice of Georgia.
The accused, who was defended by counsel Ronny Cham, said she understood the charge and pleaded guilty to it.
In his decision, Wong held that the case involved a foreigner who was involved in an international drug syndicate although she was not fully aware of what she was doing.
“Be that as it may, the court must ensure the world at large knows that the courts in Malaysia take serious view of such offence so that would-be offenders would not use this country as a transit point,” he said.
Wong said he took into account the fact that the accused was deceived by her husband and because of this she and her family would suffer and especially her daughter, who is still underage, will carry the scar for the rest of her life.
According to the facts of the case, the accused was arrested on October 25, 2010 about 12.05am at the said premises by Inspector P.M Sundar S/O Muniandy and his team who conducted a room search and seize several items.
During the search, police personnel found a blue and red baggage bearing Babutsa’s name, and it contained four painting frames.
Further inspection of the frames led to the discovery of 30 white plastic packets containing syabu.
The drug was found concealed in the frames in between the canvas and the back board which was later analysed and confirmed by the chemist to contain 1,710.3 grams of syabu.
The investigation of the case was carried out by investigating officer Inspector Khairul Anwar Shamsudin.
In pleading for a lenient sentence, Cham urged the court to take into consideration that in this case, the accused was found in possession of, but a competent court in Georgia has provided credible judicial findings to show that the accused’s husband had confessed to deceiving and setting her up in the transportation of the stolen paintings.
The counsel pointed out that the judicial finding of the Georgian court had thus potentially negated knowledge on her part, and in this case of the narcotics substance she was carrying.
He submitted that given the fact that the accused was a victim of betrayal by her husband and the fact that human compassion compels consideration to be taken into account in the interest and well-being of a little child, who is Babutsa’s four-year-old daughter, to have a chance to regain some confidence as well as integrity in life if she could be united with the mother as soon as possible.
Cham urged the court to impose a sentence of not more than five years commencing from the date of arrest.
Jamil in his reply told the court that drug offences have been a major problem afflicting the society for a very long time and the Executive as well as the Legislature have tried to curb this problem by imposing heavier penalties.
The periods of imprisonment provided under the punishable section reflect the seriousness of the offence, he submitted.
He urged the court on the other hand, in imposing sentence, to consider several factors mainly of public interest, especially so of the future generation to be protected.
A deterrent sentence imposed against the offender would serve as a warning to others who are involved in a similar kind of activity.
Jamil urged for the accused to be sentenced heavily and any other order as justice deems fit.
The court later struck out the charge initially framed under Section 39B (1) (a) of the DDA 1952 and ordered all 16 exhibits adduced during the trial to be kept by the police for disposal.