Foreigners convicted for drug trafficking escape death penalty

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Yap (left) with his client Kong Rin (second left) and Wit (right) with his client Thi Kim Tuyen (second right).

KUCHING: A Cambodian man and a Vietnamese woman escaped the gallows when a Federal Court here allowed their appeal today.

The Federal Court replaced the death penalty with a conviction under Section 12 (2) Dangerous Drug Act (DDA) 1952 and sentenced the duo to 20 years in jail, to commence from the date of their arrest.

The apex court held that the learned trial judge of a Sibu High Court had misdirected himself on the usage of the presumption under Section 37 DDA 1952 before convicting the duo with separate drug trafficking offences.

On May 18, 2016, the Sibu High Court sentenced the Cambodian man and a Vietnamese woman to death for trafficking dangerous drugs in 2013 after finding them guilty following their failure to cast any doubt on the prosecution’s case.

Cambodian Kong Rin was convicted of trafficking over 2.22kg of methamphetamine in front of the exit gate at the arrival hall of Sibu Airport at 11.38am on Nov 27, 2013.

Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen was convicted of trafficking over 2.15kg of methamphetamine in front of the exit gate at the arrival hall of Sibu Airport at 11.40am on the same day.

Both charges were framed under Section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act.

Counsels Wilfred Yap and Wit Malang represented the appellants respectively.