Released earlier this year, Federal Court now orders two men back to jail for cannabis trafficking

The Federal Court of Malaysia has reinstated the 30-year prison sentences for Azril Azhar Ahmad and Zulfattar Md Ridzuan, overturning a Court of Appeal decision that had reduced their trafficking conviction to possession.

The court found overwhelming evidence of the men trafficking 264.36 grams of cannabis, supported by the presence of drug trafficking equipment.

Zulfattar will also receive 12 strokes of the rotan, while Azril is exempt due to his age.

Both had been released in February after serving a lesser sentence but must now return to prison.

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 28 — Two men released from prison earlier this year must return to serve the remainder of their original 30-year sentence, after the Federal Court reinstated their convictions for trafficking 264.36 grammes of cannabis.

A three-man bench chaired by Justice Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang ruled that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Azril Azhar Ahmad and Zulfattar Md Ridzuan had trafficked in the drug. Also on the bench were Justices Datuk Lee Swee Seng and Datuk P. Ravinthran.

Delivering the court’s broad grounds, Justice Lee said the Court of Appeal had misdirected itself when it substituted the men’s trafficking convictions with possession, on the grounds that the amount of cannabis seized was only marginally above the statutory threshold for the presumption of trafficking.

“We find there was overwhelming evidence of trafficking as found by the trial court,” he said.

He said the evidence showed that equipment associated with drug trafficking, including a digital weighing scale, plastic packets and a penknife, had been found in the car where the drugs were seized.

Justice Lee said it was never the defence’s case that the drugs were intended for personal consumption, adding that the appellate court had made an assumption based on speculation.

The Federal Court reinstated the 30-year jail term that the High Court had imposed on both men on Oct 20, 2023.

Zulfattar was also ordered to undergo 12 strokes of the rotan, while Azril was exempted from whipping as he had reached the age of 50. The sentence takes effect from Sept 26, 2020, the date of their arrest.

On May 6 last year, the Court of Appeal substituted their trafficking conviction with possession and sentenced both men to eight years’ imprisonment and 10 strokes of the cane, prompting an appeal by the prosecution to the Federal Court.

Azril, 50, and Zulfattar, 44, were released from prison on Feb 23 this year after completing their sentences. Both were present in court today.

The offence took place behind a petrol station in Persiaran Industri Galla, Taman Perindustrian Galla, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, on Sept 26, 2020.

The two men were also convicted by the same High Court of possessing 8.8 grammes of methamphetamine and each sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and five strokes of the rotan.

The Court of Appeal upheld the jail terms but reduced the caning to three strokes, a decision neither man appealed to the Federal Court.

At today’s proceedings, deputy public prosecutor How Mei Ling appeared for the prosecution.

Azril was represented by lawyers Hasnan Hamzah and Qushwa Hasnan, while Jaspal Singh Mann and Pramjit Kaur appeared for Zulfattar. — Bernama

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马来西亚联邦法院恢复了对 Azril Azhar Ahmad 和 Zulfattar Md Ridzuan 的 30 年监禁判决，推翻了上诉法院将他们的贩毒罪名减为持有毒品罪的裁决。

法院发现大量证据表明这些人贩运了 264.36 克大麻，并发现了贩毒设备。

祖尔法塔尔也将受到 12 次鞭笞，而阿兹里尔由于年龄原因免于鞭笞。

两人此前因服刑较轻于二月份获释，但现在必须返回监狱。

布城，9月28日讯——两名男子今年早些时候获释出狱，联邦法院恢复了他们贩运264.36克大麻的罪名，他们必须返回监狱服完剩余的30年刑期。

由罗扎里亚·布让法官担任主席的三人合议庭裁定，控方已排除合理怀疑地证明阿兹里尔·阿兹哈尔·艾哈迈德和祖尔法塔尔·穆罕默德·里兹万贩运了毒品。合议庭成员还包括李瑞生法官和拉文特兰法官。

李法官在陈述法院的广泛理由时表示，上诉法院以查获的大麻数量仅略高于推定贩毒的法定门槛为由，将这些男子的贩毒罪名替换为持有毒品罪名，这是错误的。

他说：“我们发现，审判法院认定存在大量人口贩运的证据。”

他说，证据显示，在查获毒品的汽车里发现了与贩毒有关的设备，包括电子秤、塑料袋和小刀。

李法官表示，辩方从未提出这些毒品是供个人消费的，并补充说，上诉法院是基于推测做出的假设。

联邦法院恢复了高等法院于 2023 年 10 月 20 日对这两名男子判处的 30 年监禁。

祖尔法塔尔还被判处鞭刑12下，而阿兹里尔因年满50岁而免于鞭刑。判决自2020年9月26日，即他们被捕之日起生效。

去年 5 月 6 日，上诉法院将他们的贩毒罪名改为持有毒品罪名，判处两人 8 年监禁和 10 下鞭刑，这促使检方向联邦法院提起上诉。

50岁的阿兹里尔和44岁的祖尔法塔尔于今年2月23日刑满释放。两人今天都出庭了。

这起犯罪事件于2020年9月26日发生在森美兰州芙蓉Taman Perindustrian Galla Persiaran Industri Galla的一个加油站后面。

这两名男子还被同一高等法院判定持有 8.8 克甲基苯丙胺罪名成立，分别被判处五年监禁和五鞭刑。

上诉法院维持了监禁判决，但将鞭刑减为三下，两人均未就此决定向联邦法院提出上诉。

在今天的庭审中，副检察官何美玲代表控方出庭。

阿兹里尔由律师哈斯南·哈姆扎和库什瓦·哈斯南代表，而贾斯帕尔·辛格·曼和普拉姆吉特·考尔则代表佐法塔尔出庭。 — 马新社

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