TAWAU, Aug 18 — The High Court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to trafficking over 6kg of methamphetamine at Tawau Airport two years ago.
Hii Sieng Kang, 31, was scheduled to stand trial for four days starting today, but pleaded guilty before Judicial Commissioner Steve Ritikos.
Ritikos then ordered the sentence to take effect from his arrest date on July 30, 2024.
The accused was charged with trafficking 6,968.6g of methamphetamine at the Arrival Terminal of Tawau Airport at 12.30pm on July 30, 2024.
Hii was charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment and a minimum of 15 strokes of the cane.
According to the facts of the case, a Customs officer at the passenger inspection area noticed the accused acting suspiciously and directed him to scan a black bag he was carrying.
The scan revealed suspicious images, and a subsequent inspection found the bag contained blue packets of methamphetamine.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Arif Mohamad Shariff from the Royal Malaysian Customs Department appeared for the prosecution, while lawyer Vivian Thien represented the accused.
