Chow Kum Yuen, 37, was sentenced to 18 years in jail and 20 strokes of the cane, while S Inthiran, 31, was given a 12-year imprisonment term and 10 strokes of the cane after they pleaded guilty before the Federal Court’s three-member panel of judges to the drug possession charges.
The duo’s cases were heard separately today by the panel comprising Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Federal Court Justices Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Rhodzariah Bujang.
The court set aside the duo’s conviction and death sentences for the drug trafficking offences and substituted it with a charge for possession of the drugs.
This was after Chow’s lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, and Inthiran’s counsel, Baljit Singh, informed the court that the Attorney-General’s Chambers had accepted their representations for the drug trafficking charges to be substituted with those related to possession.
This was confirmed by deputy public prosecutor Amril Johari, who appeared for the prosecution for Chow’s case, as well as DPP Parvin Hameedah Natchiar appearing for the prosecution in Inthiran’s case.
Chow, a mechanic, pleaded guilty to four charges of possessing 163.6gm of nimetazepam, 1,819.61gm of ecstasy, 163.71gm methamphetamine and 482.96gm of ketamine at a house along Jalan Desa Mesra, Jalan Kelang, Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur, on April 18, 2017.
On Nov 22, 2019, the High Court found Chow guilty of four charges of drug trafficking and sentenced him to death. The court also found him guilty on a charge of possessing 51.80gm of cannabis and sentenced him to 10 years in prison and 10 strokes of the cane.
Chow only appealed to the Court of Appeal against his conviction and death sentence for the drug trafficking offences but his appeal was dismissed on March 9 last year.
Today, Tengku Maimun sentenced Chow to five years in jail each for the charges of possessing nimetazepam and ketamine and an 18-year imprisonment term and 10 strokes of the cane each for the other two charges.
She ordered the sentences to run concurrently from April 18, 2017, the date of his arrest.
Chow will receive 24 strokes of the cane instead of 30 strokes as Section 288 (5) of the Criminal Procedure Code states that for a person convicted of two or more distinct offences, the combined sentences of whipping awarded by the court should not exceed 24 strokes.
Meanwhile, Inthiran, a lorry driver, pleaded guilty to possessing 2,238.49gm of heroin in front of a mini market along Jalan Desa Jaya 1, Taman Jana Jaya 11, Kamunting, Perak, on March 29, 2017.
He was initially found guilty of trafficking the drugs and sentenced to death by the High Court on April 6, 2018. His appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed on March 10 last year.
Tengku Maimun ordered Inthiran to serve 12 years in jail, beginning from the date of his arrest on March 29, 2017, and also ordered him to be given 10 strokes of the cane.