SHAH ALAM – The high court here has fixed August 22 to hear the prosecution’s appeal against a sessions court’s decision to acquit singer-songwriter Muhammad Yasin Sulaiman of four drug-related charges.
Both parties have been instructed to file written submissions by July 15 and reply by July 29 if required, Shah Alam High Court senior registrar Azmi Aman told reporters after the case mention today.
Yasin, 49, was charged on March 24, 2022, with one count of possessing 193.7g of cannabis under Section 39A(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, one count of planting 17 cannabis plants in plastic pots at his house in Kota Damansara under Section 6B(1)(a) and as well as ingesting cannabis under Section 15(1)(a) of the same act.
Section 39A(2) carries a penalty of five years to life imprisonment, and a maximum of 20 strokes of the rotan, while Section 6B(1)(a) provides life imprisonment and at least six strokes of rotan, upon conviction.
Section 15(1)(a) carries a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or maximum two-year jail term if convicted.
Initially, the singer had a fourth charge of trafficking 214g of cannabis at his house and could have faced the death penalty, but he was given a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) in July 2022.
On November 29 last year, Petaling Jaya sessions court judge Faiz Dziyauddin acquitted and discharged Yasin of all four drug-related charges, after finding that during the time of the offence, the accused experienced manic symptoms which caused a severe cognitive decline to a point that he was unable to know that his actions were wrong and violated the law.
Yasin was represented by lawyer Ariff Azami Hussein, while deputy public prosecutor Lokman Amin appeared for the prosecution. – June 11, 2024