Court to rule on drug charge defence

GEORGE TOWN: The High Court will decide on Dec 6 whether to call for the defence of two men charged with trafficking in more than 158kg of cocaine two years ago.

Judicial Commissioner Datuk Azmi Abdullah fixed the date after the prosecution tendered its written submission.

Yu Beng Chuah, 51, and Azhari Arshad, 47, jointly face a reduced charge of trafficking 158.612kg of the drug at the Customs Department’s logistics storeroom in Jalan Perusahaan Prai on Feb 24, 2016.

The offence under Section 39B(1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

Yu was the owner of an engineering firm while Azhari was a freelance forwarding agent before they were arrested.

Yu and Azhari were represented by Eddy Kwang and Y. Anbananthan while DPP Nazir Amir Johari appeared for the prosecution.