Noor Firdaus Rosli said corporals Irman Hadi Abd Manan, 39, and Faizal Amran, 37, who were with the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) in Cheras, had forsaken their sacred duty as policemen.
“It is unfortunate to see two policemen caught with the illegal substance.
“They should be the ones protecting people from gaining access to such substances, curbing the dreadful activity and its undesirable effects on society,” he said in his 43-page judgment after finding them guilty.
He described their actions as “immoral and a dishonour to the uniform they donned”.
“The humiliation and embarrassment arising from their actions not only has adverse effects on them, but also their family and the police force too,” he said, adding that he only imposed a fine as that was the trend in sentencing those convicted under the Poisons Act in the Kajang courts.
However, Noor Firdaus said, the amount of the illegal substance in this case was not small and the correct message should be sent “so that others who are like-minded may be restrained from becoming a menace to society”.
Irman and Faizal were charged with three counts of possessing 1.7 litres of liquid ketum, 21.4kg and another 22.1kg of plants that contained “mitragynine”, one of the substances in ketum.
They were fined RM3,000, RM20,000 and another RM20,000, respectively, for the offences committed at a house in Cheras at 7pm on Nov 30, 2019.
According to the facts of the case, a Bukit Aman party led by Ahmad Herman Kassim went to the house after receiving information that ketum was being sold by police personnel.
Herman said he smelled something brewing while he was inside the house and searched the premises.
In one room, he found a pile of green leaves, which he suspected to be ketum leaves, and in the kitchen area, he discovered three packets of ketum water in an icebox.
Outside the kitchen, he found three big pots – two with ketum water being cooked and another containing ketum water that had already been cooked.
Police also seized RM3,920 and a book with details suspected to be records of sale of ketum.