Businessman Shaifol Azizi Salim, 45, was also ordered to be whipped 10 times while a cook, Sukor Yaacob, 55, was spared the rotan as the law prohibits such punishment for men who are 50 years and above.

They had been sentenced to death by the High Court in 2018 on conviction for trafficking in 1.3kg of heroin and morphine at a homestay in Alor Setar seven years ago.

They had appealed against the death sentence.

When today’s proceeding began, lawyer S Jayananda Rao, for Sukor, submitted that the trial judge had misdirected herself on the burden in relation to presumption.

Appeal judge Abu Bakar Jais, one of the three-member bench, interjected and said: “We are not going to prejudge your client. Are you willing to accept a conviction for possession as we have gone through the judgment, note of evidence and submissions by both parties.”

Deputy public prosecutor Eyu Ghim Siang said he had to call his superior for direction.

The bench then stood down the case.

Eyu later said the prosecution was amenable to the charge being reduced while Jayananda and KT Jayaraj, for Shaifol, consulted their clients, who agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge.

Eyu suggested a minimum jail term of 18 years while the lawyers proposed between 15 and 18 years based on the current sentencing trend.

The court sentenced them to 17 years, to begin from the date of their arrests in May 2015.

Judge Hanipah Farikullah chaired the three-member bench comprising himself, Abu Bakar and Zaini Mazlan.