TWO Malaysian men escaped the noose in Singapore this week, with one having his conviction set aside by the Court of Appeal, which then found him guilty of a reduced charge of attempting to import drugs into the republic.

The cases involving the two Malaysians were, however, not related.

The Court of Appeal today set aside the conviction on Gobi Avedian, who was nabbed by the authorities at the Woodlands Checkpoint six years ago and later charged with one count of importing 40.22g of diamorphine.

Instead, the court sentenced him to 15 years’ imprisonment with effect from the date of his arrest on December 11, 2014, and to 10 strokes of the cane.

The decision was confirmed by Gobi’s counsel, M. Ravi, to Bernama.

This was the second time Gobi has escaped the gallows. His charge was reduced in 2017 after a high court judge acquitted him of the capital charge.

However, the prosecution appealed in 2018 and the apex court reinstated the original charge.

Gobi, 32, was arrested with drugs found hidden in the motorcycle he was riding.

He claimed that he was assured by a friend, who instructed him to bring the items into Singapore, that they were only “chocolate drugs” and that, if he were caught with them, he would only be fined or given light punishment.

Meanwhile, another Malaysian, Beh Chew Boo, who was sentenced to death in January this year, was acquitted by the Court of Appeal last Tuesday.

In delivering the judgment for Beh, the Court of Appeal said the prosecution was unable to prove the charge of importation against the appellant.

Accordingly, “we acquit Beh on this charge”, read one of the three judges, Tay Yong Kwang.

The sole issue before the high court was whether Beh knew that drugs were in the storage compartment of a motorcycle he had borrowed and which he rode into Singapore with a female pillion rider.

Beh’s defence was that he did not know about the existence of the drugs in the motorcycle.

The judge had found that Beh could not rebut the presumption of knowledge of the presence of the drugs and, therefore, found him guilty as charged.

Beh, who was arrested on October 26, 2016, for attempting to carry 499.97g of methamphetamine from Malaysia at the Woodlands Checkpoint, appealed against his conviction and sentence. – Bernama, October 19, 2020.