FOUR men and a woman were freed of drug trafficking and possession charges by the Ayer Keroh High Court in Malacca today.

Judge Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid reached the decision after the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against Mohd Nizam Makzan, 34; Nurshahira Hamraj, 27; Hairudin Ramle, 24; Muhammad Hilmi Rosly, 33; and Dermawan Muhammad, 38.

Delivering his judgment, Radzi said the prosecution did not submit any clear evidence to corroborate the alleged presence of the accused at the coffee table in the house where the drugs were found, to show that the accused had the intention to possess and distribute the illegal substances.  

“Since the prosecution has failed in proving the element of possession, the court finds that it has also failed in proving the elements of trafficking and possession. Therefore, the five accused are discharged and acquitted from the four charges,” he said.  

The five friends were jointly charged with trafficking in 166.24g of methamphetamine and also faced three counts of possessing heroin (1.44g), monoacetylmorphines (1.81g) and ketamine (17.66g) at a house in Jalan Semabok, Melaka Tengah about 1am on March 22, 2018. 

The trafficking charge was filed under section 39(B)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which is punishable by the death sentence, upon conviction. 

The three drug possession charges were filed under section 12(2) of the same act, which is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment, a maximum of RM100,000 fine, or both, upon conviction. 

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Nor Azizah Yusof, while lawyers Mak Kah Keong, Tiu Leong Kim, Hanif Hassan, Azrul Zulkifli Stork and Andrew Lourdes represented the five accused.  

The prosecution had called in 11 witnesses to testify during the proceedings. – Bernama, July 27, 2023.