KUCHING: The Court of Appeal yesterday ordered an elderly woman from Thailand freed of a drug trafficking charge meted by the High Court, to enter her defence.
Justice Datuk Wong Dak Wah, who led a three-judge panel in the sitting, made the order after allowing the prosecution’s appeal against the High Court’s decision, which acquitted and discharged Naphaporn Tangjit, 58.
Two other judges were Datuk Hamid Sultan Abu Backer and Datuk Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid.
In the unanimous decision, the court ruled that the prosecution has proven a prima facie case against the accused, and therefore, allowed the appeal.
The accused was detained at the Customs check-point in Kuching International Airport around 9pm on Nov 1 last year.
She was accused of trafficking 3.6kg of methamphetamine, which provides for a mandatory death sentence on conviction under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1952.
On Dec 29 last year, the High Court ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against her and was acquitted of the charge without entering her defence.
Naphaporn has been in the authority’s detention pending the appeal.