THE Singapore Court of Appeal yesterday acquitted two men initially convicted of drug trafficking, including a Malaysian, local media reported.

The Straits Times reported that the three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, allowed the appeal of a Singaporean, Raj Kumar Aiyachami, 40, against his conviction and mandatory death sentence.

The report said the court also allowed the appeal of a Malaysian, Ramadass Punnusamy, 41, against his conviction as well as a sentence of life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane.

The appeals of both men focused solely on whether each of them had knowledge of the drugs, the portal said.

The pair had been charged over a bag of drugs containing not less than 1.88kg of cannabis.

Quoting Ramadass’ counsel Eugene Thuraisingam, the report said a temporary pass for Ramadass will likely have to be arranged by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority as his entry pass had expired.

Ramadass will then have to leave the republic before his temporary pass expires. – Bernama, May 28, 2022.