Man, Thai girlfriend freed of drug trafficking charge
Judge K. Muniandy ordered the couple, Tan Kah Soon, 49, and his Thai girlfriend, Pattarathida Petcharanon, 39, to be freed after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against them at the end of the prosecution's case.
"There were significant weaknesses in the prosecution's case, including issues related to the chain of custody of the evidence and the unexplained time gap between the discovery of the material and its delivery to the laboratory for analysis.
"The scientific evidence presented raised reasonable doubts about the identity and authenticity of the dangerous substance and its direct link to the two accused.
"Accordingly, both accused are acquitted and discharged of the charges made against them without being called to defend themselves," said the judge.
The couple was jointly charged with trafficking the drugs, namely 647.1g of methamphetamine and 561.6g of ketamine, at a condominium in Taman Desa Petaling, Cheras, at 10.50pm on Nov 9, 2021.
They were charged under Section 39B (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which provides for the death penalty or life imprisonment and if not sentenced to death, a maximum of 15 strokes of the cane, if convicted.
The case was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Zaileen Nadia Zubir, while both accused were represented by lawyer Sivahnanthan Ragava.
– Bernama
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