Released from jail, 2 men now face 30-year terms over 264g cannabis

Two men released from prison earlier this year will have to return to serve the balance of their original 30-year jail terms after the Federal Court reinstated their convictions for trafficking 264.36g of cannabis.

A three-member bench chaired by Justice Rhodzariah Bujang ruled that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Grab driver Azril Azhar Ahmad, 50, and businessman Zulfattar Ridzuan, 44, were trafficking in the drug.

Justices Lee Swee Seng and Ravinthran Paramaguru were also on the panel.

Lee, who read the court’s broad grounds, said the Court of Appeal erred in May last year when it substituted the trafficking charge with possession merely because the amount of cannabis was only marginally above the statutory threshold.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, possession of 200g or more of cannabis gives rise to a presumption of trafficking.

The two men were arrested after police found 264.36g of cannabis at Galla Industrial Park in Seremban at about 5.40pm on Sept 26, 2020.

Lee said the prosecution also produced evidence of equipment related to drug-trafficking, including a digital weighing scale, plastic packets, a penknife and grinders, which were found in the car where the cannabis was discovered.

The judge said the evidence had to be considered as a whole, including the fact that the two men had travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban, a place they were not familiar with.

“We find the appellate court misdirected itself when there was overwhelming evidence of trafficking,” Lee said.

The Federal Court therefore restored the 30-year jail sentence and 12 strokes of the rotan imposed by the High Court on Oct 20, 2023.

The sentence is backdated to the date of their arrest on Sept 26, 2020.

The Court of Appeal had sentenced both men to eight years’ imprisonment for possession, with the sentence also backdated to their arrest.

The two men were released from prison on Feb 23 this year after serving part of their reduced sentences. They were present in court today when the Federal Court delivered its decision.

Azril, who is now 50, will not be caned as Malaysian law exempts men aged 50 and above from whipping. Zulfattar, however, will have to undergo the 12 strokes.

Azril was represented by Hasnan Hamzah and Qushwa Hasnan, while Jaspal Singh Mann and Pramjit Kaur appeared for Zulfattar. Deputy public prosecutor How Mei Ling appeared for the prosecution.

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