Kota Kinabalu: A 36-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the rotan after being convicted of trafficking 339.1 grammes of syabu at the High Court here.
High Court Judge Datuk Dr Lim Hock Leng found Sangdesar Bunjing guilty of committing the offence at 12.45am on Feb 12, 2024, inside a Perodua Kancil parked near the Pos Aviation Warehouse car park.
Sangdesar was convicted under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death sentence or life imprisonment and a minimum of 15 strokes of the rotan if not sentenced to death.
In delivering his judgment, Dr Lim said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, confirming the identity and weight of the drugs and Sangdesar’s possession, which triggered the statutory presumption of trafficking.
“The accused failed to rebut the statutory presumption of trafficking or cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case in other material respects,” said Dr Lim.
In mitigation, defence counsel Jamadi Saleh highlighted that Sangdesar had no prior criminal record, had been employed as a ground handling worker at Pos Aviation since 2009, and was married and the sole breadwinner for his family.
The defence also argued that Sangdesar was not part of a drug syndicate and expressed deep remorse for the impact of the case on his family and reputation.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Dacia Jane Romanus urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, citing the high incidence of drug-related offences in Sabah and the substantial quantity of syabu involved.
The court heard from five prosecution witnesses and three defence witnesses throughout the trial.
Dr Lim ordered the sentence to take effect from Feb 12, 2024, the date of Sangdesar’s arrest.
