By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, May 20: The High Court here sentenced an Indonesian man and a local woman to 12 years’ imprisonment respectively to a charge of possessing the drug methamphetamine.
Budiman Sabari, 37, an Indonesian and Norfaezah Tela, 39, pleaded guilty to the charge framed under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under Section 39A(2) of the same Act and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
High Court Judge Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab accepted their guilty plea and convicted them as charged.
Judge Alwi sentenced them to 12 years’ imprisonment each, with effect from the date of arrest, which is Nov 10, 2020 and sentenced Budiman to 10 strokes of the cane.
Initially, they were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under subsection 39B(2) of the same Act for drug trafficking. However, the prosecution amended their charge to drug possession.
They were found possessing 149.10 grams of the drug, at an unnumbered house in Kampung Tengah Alit, Kabong, at about 11.50pm on Nov 10, 2020.
According to the brief facts of the case, a police team raided the said house and found eight transparent plastic bags containing crystallised substances in a bag.
Budiman was also found to have entered the land illegally.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sangari Ponnan while both accused were represented by assigned counsel Steven Beti. — DayakDaily
