Duo's drug trafficking trial on May 7-9

KOTA KINABALU: A technician and an unemployed man who are both charged with trafficking in 5,241.5 grams of syabu will stand trial at the High Court here on May 7-9.

Aminuddin Baharuddin, 27, and Mohd Shaharan Guriman, 30, who appeared before Justice Datuk Nurchaya Hj Arshad yesterday, were charged under Section 39B (1) (a) and punishable under Section 39B (2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

The indictment carries the death sentence or life imprisonment and if the accused are not sentenced to death, they could be punished with whipping of not less than 15 strokes, upon conviction.

The duo were arrested at the Narcotics Crime Investigation Department of the Sabah Police Headquarters in Kepayan at 10.15 am on August 13, 2017 for allegedly trafficking in syabu.

Both of them, defended by counsels Azhier Farhan Arisin and Dominic Chew, was ordered to be held in custody pending disposal of their case.

In a separate case yesterday, a restaurant worker was jailed for 14 months by the Magistrate's Court here for stealing cash belonging to his boss.

Madzrin Abd Ghani, 23, pleaded guilty before magistrate Afiq Agoes to a charge under Section 381 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to seven years and a fine, upon conviction.

The accused was arrested for stealing RM1,900 at a shopping mall restaurant at the end of May, 2018.

In mitigation, National Legal Aid Foundation counsel Aaron Augustine, who represented the accused, submitted that the accused claimed that he had taken the cash to pay for his house rental.

The counsel also said the accused had no previous conviction and his job at the restaurant was as a shift manager.

In the same court yesterday, a labourer was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment for disposing of stolen scaffoldings.

Moses Daud, 34, admitted to committing the offence along Jalan Tuaran on February 7.

The accused, who was represented by the same counsel, was ordered to serve his jail term from the date of his arrest.