By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Aug 12: An Indonesian woman escaped the gallows after the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) accepted her representation to amend her charge from drug trafficking to drug possession at the Federal Court today.
Federal Court led by Datuk Rohana Yusuf unanimously sentenced the appellant to an imprisonment of 19 years, from the date of her arrest on November 5, 2014.
Eva Sylviana, 52, was initially charged with trafficking 6.61kg of Methamphetamine at the Kuching International Airport. She was found guilty and was sentenced to death by Kuching High Court on October 11, 2016 and the decision was affirmed by Court of Appeal on July 10, 2017.
She was represented by Counsel Rambir Singh who appealed against the sentence to the Court of Appeal and wrote representation to the Attorney General’s Chambers which agreed to reduce the charge from drug trafficking to drug possession.
In her amended charge today, she was charged for possessing 4,874 grams of Methamphetamine at Kuching International Airport Special Investigation Unit Office, at about 11.30pm on November 5, 2014.
She was charged under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under Section 39A(2) of the same Act, which carries imprisonment for life or imprisonment term not less than 5 years and whipping of not less than 10 strokes, upon conviction.
On the day she was arrested, she had been on board a flight from Hong Kong and transited in Kuala Lumpur before arriving at Kuching International Airport.
DPP Musli Abdul Hamid appeared for the defendant.—DayakDaily
