Man acquitted, discharged of cannabis possession

KOTA KINABALU: A Sessions Court here on Monday freed a man from a charge of possessing 190.11 grams of cannabis.

Judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim acquitted and discharged Adrian Crnila Kareem without calling for his defence.

In her reserved ruling, the judge held that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Adrian who was accused of having the cannabis at 3.30pm on Jan 5, 2022 at a room of a house in Jalan Lintas, Kepayan on January 5, 2022.

He was charged under Section 6 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39A(2) of the same Act.

The indictment provides for a jail term of between five years and an imprisonment for life and whipping of at least 10 strokes, upon conviction.

The prosecution had called six witnesses to give evidence against Adrian.

Counsel Batholomew Jingulam and Edward Paul represented Adrian.

In a separate case, the High Court had ordered a distributor of money lender leaflets to enter his defence on a charge of trafficking in 200.08 grams of cannabis.

Justice Datuk Faridz Gohim Abdullah made the order on Dick Lai Cheng Kaai, 26, when the case came up for sentenceon Monday.

In his reserved ruling, the judge held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Lai who was accused of committing the offence near a shop in Penampang at 11.45am on July 21, 2019.

The defence trial was fixed on June 27 and 28.

The prosecution had called six witnesses to testify against the accused.

Lai, who was represented by counsel Azhier Farhan Arisin, had claimed trial to the charge on September 22, 2020.

The prosecution stage trial had commenced on October 17, 2023.