Photo for illustration purposes only.
KUCHING (Sept 7): The High Court here today allowed a man’s appeal to set aside his sentence of two and a half years in jail and three strokes of the rotan for drug possession handed down by the Kota Samarahan Sessions Court.
Judge Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab allowed Sim Chia Heng’s appeal to set aside the sentence after hearing arguments from his counsel Osman Ibrahim and also the arguments of deputy public prosecutor Ronie Entili.
On Feb 19 this year, the lower court found the 36-year-old guilty of possessing 5.28 grams of syabu on Feb 21, 2017 at around 2.15pm at a house in Taman Merdang Gayam, Kota Samarahan.
The charge under Section 12 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 is punishable under Section 39A (1) of the same Act.
The Section provides for imprisonment of between two and five years, and also between three and nine strokes of the rotan upon conviction.
When giving his decision, Alwi said there was merit in the appellant’s appeal, especially regarding his control and ownership of the drugs, which were not considered and assessed by the previous court.
It is understood Sim was sleeping in a modified room before the police raid which found the drugs.
Alwi said the room could be accessed by other occupants and even construction workers.
It was also learnt that there were other material discrepancies regarding the actual position of the drugs found, he said.
As such, he ruled that it was unsafe to impose a sentence on the appellant and subsequently accepted Sim’s appeal, thus setting aside the imprisonment and caning sentences imposed by the previous court.
Aside from Osman, Sim was also represented by counsel Nuratikah Kulah.