Kota Kinabalu: A 38-year-old man was sentenced to 13 years’ jail and ordered to be given 10 lashes of the cane by the Sessions Court here, Tuesday, for having 39.67gm of syabu.
Taham Sakam was found guilty of committing the offence at 3.40pm on April 17, this year, on a hilltop area at Kg Lok Buno, beside Jalan Sepanggar, Manggatal.
Sessions Court Judge Zaini Fishir, in delivering his decision, found that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court ordered Taham to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest on April 17 and ordered him to be referred to the Immigration Department thereafter.
Taham was convicted under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, read with Section 39A(2) of the same Act, carries life imprisonment or a minimum of five years’ jail, and not less than 10 strokes of the cane, on conviction.
Four prosecution witnesses and one defence witness were called during the trial, which began in July this year.
In mitigation, Taham told the court that he had eight children, their mother was no longer around, and he had no valid documents. He pleaded for a lower sentence, saying he had family responsibilities and no parents left.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Eugenie A. Gilbert urged the court to impose a heavy sentence, stressing the seriousness of the offence and noting that Taham had gone through a full trial.
