TAWAU – Mechanic Tai Chee Khiong has been sentenced to death by the Tawau High Court in Sabah after being found guilty of trafficking 200kg of methamphetamine.
In his ruling, judge Datuk Lim Hock Leng said the prosecution has successfully proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to the charge, Tai had committed the offence in Kg Batu Payung, Tawau, on September 6, 2021, around 7.30pm.
When ruling the sentence, Lim said the accused was aware he had direct ownership of the drugs that weighed about 199,950.01g.
He said considering the weight of the drugs surpassed all drug cases in Tawau court for the past three years.
Lim added that the accused did not show remorse for his offence and the accused only remained quiet when given the chance to speak at the court before the sentence was ruled.
The court also found that the defence’s statement only mentioned the first offence of the accused, and did not state any faults in the accused, said the judge.
The offence falls under Section 38B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment, or if not sentenced to death, punished with 15 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutors Hurman Hussain and Suhaimi Suriana prosecuted the case, while counsel Darmin Achok represented Tai.
In his argument, Hurman said even though the punishment is under the court’s discretion, the prosecution hoped for the death sentence to be ruled considering the weight of the drugs involved, as well as public interests.
The prosecution presented five witnesses throughout the proceeding, while the accused stood as a witness himself.
This was the first case in Tawau High Court involving the death penalty after the mandatory death penalty was abolished on July 4, 2023. – March 8, 2024