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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Malaysia: Ex-e-hailing driver jailed 30 years, 24 strokes for trafficking 24kg cannabis Dawn Chan Straits Times Wednesday 20 May 2026 K. Prakash, 43, told the court he hoped to see his son again, saying he had lost contact with the child following his separation from his wife. "I just want to see my son… I do not know what else to say," he said tearfully, clasping his hands in the dock. Moments before sentencing, Prakash continued to maintain his innocence, claiming he had been wrongfully implicated and referring to an alleged accomplice who had recently been arrested. However, High Court Judge Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar instructed him to confine his remarks to mitigation before sentencing was delivered. Prakash was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the rotan after being found guilty of trafficking 24,588.5g of cannabis under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39B(2), which provides for either the death penalty or life imprisonment, and whipping upon conviction. The court also imposed a five-year jail term and 10 strokes of the rotan for possession of 6.4g of monoacetylmorphines, and a further three years' jail and three strokes of the rotan for possession of 4.0g of heroin. All sentences were ordered to run concurrently from the date of his arrest on April 22, 2021. The offences were committed at 5.45pm in an apartment unit in Bandar Sri Damansara, Petaling Jaya. The possession charges were framed under Section 12(2) of the same Act, read together with Sections 39A(2) and 39A(1), which carry varying terms of imprisonment and whipping. Latifah, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal, said the decision reflected the abolition of the mandatory death penalty. She said the accused's claim of lack of knowledge and possession amounted to a bare denial and was unsubstantiated, failing to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case. "All the drugs, including the 24kg of cannabis, were intended for trafficking. It is implausible that such a substantial amount was for self-consumption," she said. The judge said that only the accused had testified in his defence, while two individuals named by him were not called to support his version of events. In his defence, Prakash, who also worked part-time selling fireworks, claimed he was unaware that a bag and box found at his rented home contained drugs, saying they had been handed to him by the two men. He said the items had been kept in a room for two weeks and that he never opened them, believing they contained fireworks for sale. Deputy public prosecutor Mohammed Heikal Ismail urged the court to impose the maximum sentence, describing drug trafficking as a grave threat to society. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/05/1444185/ex-e-hailing-driver-jailed-30-years-24-strokes-trafficking-24kg
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