By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Oct 22: The Federal Court of Appeal today dimissed an appeal by an unemployed man who was been on death row since last year for trafficking drugs.
Lai Thai Leong, 30, was convicted and sentenced to death in the Kuching High Court on April 19, 2018.
He was found trafficking 855.8 gramme Methamphetamine at a parking space in front of a courier company in Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, at about 11am on May 12, 2016.
Three-men bench unanimously dismissed the appeal application.
Counsel Osman Ibrahim, in his submission, argued that the police officer who arrested the appellant had pulled the appellant behind and caused the box that contained the drugs to drop on the floor.
However, the police officer said that he had approached the appellant from behind and when he touched the appellant’s shoulder, the latter reacted by throwing the box to the ground.
“There is doubt between the appellant’s statement and police statement,” Osman said.
The appellant was charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act, which carries a death sentence, upon conviction.
The assigned counsel had hoped to reduce the charge from Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 to Section 39A(2) of the same Act. The Court of Appeal dismissed the application. — DayakDaily
