Self-employed man lands in jail for two charges of drug abuse

KUCHING: A self-employed man was sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment by a Magistrates’ Court here yesterday for possessing 0.49 grammes of methamphetamine.

The accused pleaded guilty to commi ing the act on February 6, around 12.10pm in a room at Bangunan Taman Sri Sarawak here.

The accused was charged under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which is punishable under Section 12(3) of the same Act which provides for a fine not exceeding RM100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both at once, if convicted.

Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali also ordered the jail sentence for the accused, Mohamad Isburhani Juma, 42, to be enforced from April 7.

Based on the facts of the case, a police team from the Sarawak Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) raided the room at the premises and during inspection, the police found a transparent plastic packet and a section of straw tube containing lumps of crystal suspected to be methamphetamine, placed in the front right pocket of the pants he was wearing.

The accused was subsequently detained and taken to the Sarawak Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) to undergo a preliminary police screening and urine examination, which then was tested positive for drugs.

The accused also faced another charge under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and was sentenced under Section 15(1) of the same Act for taking amphetamine and methamphetamine.

He was accused of commi ing the act on Feb 6 at Sarawak NCID, around 11.35 pm.

Magistrate Syarifah further sentenced the accused to five months in jail effective April 7 and two years of police surveillance for the offence.

The prosecution was conducted by Prosecuting Officer, Inspector Mohd Adzmei Ahmad while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.