The cases involving the two Malaysians, however, were not related.
The security guard, Gobi Avedian, who had smuggled the drugs to help pay for his daughter’s operation was found guilty of a reduced charge of attempting to import drugs.
He was sentenced to 15 years’ jail and 10 strokes of the cane.
In its decision, the court found that the prosecution had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the 32-year-old, who claimed he didn’t know the bundles he was carrying contained heroin, had been “wilfully blind”.
Gobi had smuggled the drugs, mixed with chocolate, to Singapore on “eight or nine occasions” and was paid RM500 for each delivery. He was nabbed in 2014 and charged with importing 40.22g of heroin.
However, the High Court judge acquitted Gobi of the capital charge and reduced it to one of attempted drug importation in 2017. The following year, the prosecution appealed the case, and the Court of Appeal convicted Gobi on the original capital charge.
But the Court of Appeal found inconsistencies between the prosecution’s case at trial and its case on appeal regarding Gobi’s knowledge of the nature of the drugs.
It said Gobi had received separate assurances from an individual known only as Vinod and a second person that the drugs were “disco drugs” and were “not very dangerous”.
And when Gobi inspected the drugs, he saw that they appeared to have been mixed with chocolate.
Bernama reported that another Malaysian, Beh Chew Boo, who was sentenced to death in January this year, was acquitted by the Court of Appeal on Oct 13.
In delivering the judgment for Beh, the Court of Appeal said the prosecution was unable to prove the charge of importation against the appellant.
The sole issue before the High Court was whether Beh knew that the items which were found to be drugs were in the storage compartment of the motorcycle that he had borrowed and which he rode into Singapore with a female pillion rider.
Beh’s defence was that he did not know about the existence of the drugs in the motorcycle.
Beh, who was arrested on Oct 26, 2016 for allegedly attempting to carry 499.97g of methamphetamine from Malaysia at the Woodlands Checkpoint. He had appealed against his conviction and sentence.