KLANG:
The High Court today acquitted 29 year old Inthiran a/l Rajendran on a charge of drug possession under section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries the maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment with no less than 15 strokes of caning.
Inthiran was arrested alongside Thinagaran a/l Madhavan, then 31, who subsequently committed suicidewhile in remand awaiting charges. The suspects were found and arrested on a fiberglass boat off the coast of port Klang by the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency in early January 2019. They allegedly attempted to smuggle a single orange fish barrel containing RM3.45 million worth of methamphetamine without any covering or protection to evade the authorities’ gaze.
According to the Deputy Director General of Operations, Datuk Mohd Zubil Mat Som, the accused were arrested around 7:30am following a 15-minute boat chase in which the accused’s motorboat was equipped with a 60 horse-power engine.
After hearing submissions from both parties, YA Puan Norliza Binti Othman held that the prosecution failed to discharge their burden of proving a prima facie case against the accused. In her judgment, Yang Arif held that although the chain of evidence and analysis of drugs were sound, there was insufficient evidence proving the element of ownership, specifically that the accused had knowledge of the fish barrel’s contents. Without calling for the defence to be heard, the accused and the deceased were declared free men and their immediate release was ordered.