Appeals court acquits man of drug trafficking, upholds possession conviction
Justice Azman Abdullah said Wan Efizan W Shamli's trafficking conviction was found to be unsafe due to material contradictions in the prosecution witnesses' testimonies. PETALING JAYA : A man was acquitted and discharged by the Court of Appeal of a charge of trafficking in 151.60gm of methamphetamine.
Bernama reported that a three-member bench, comprising Justices Azman Abdullah, Azmi Ariffin and Noorin Badaruddin, allowed an appeal by Wan Efizan W Shamli to set aside his conviction and sentence for trafficking in the drug.
Azman, who delivered the unanimous decision, said Wan Efizan's conviction was found to be unsafe due to material contradictions in the prosecution witnesses' testimonies concerning the location of the drugs at the time they were discovered.
However, the court upheld Wan Efizan's conviction for possession of 28.69gm of methamphetamine. He will serve five years in prison and receive three strokes of the cane for the offence.
On May 10 last year, the Shah Alam High Court sentenced Wan Efizan, 37, to 30 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane after finding him guilty of trafficking in methamphetamine.
He was also sentenced to five years in jail and three strokes of the cane for possession of 28.69gm of methamphetamine.
The High Court ordered Wan Efizan to serve the sentences concurrently from the date of his arrest on May 2, 2020.
The offences were allegedly committed at a house in Taman Sri Bayu, Sungai Pelek, Sepang, Selangor, about 10.30am on May 2, 2020.
Wan Efizan was represented by lawyers Ariff Azami Hussein and Nur'ain Shahiera Khalid, while deputy public prosecutor Nik Fadli Nik Azlan appeared for the prosecution.
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