Two men – a Malaysian and an Indonesian – have been sentenced to death in Malaysia after being found guilty of trafficking drugs.
A 23-year-old Malaysian man and a 34-year-old Indonesian were sentenced to death by the High Court of Johor Bahru in Malaysia last Thursday after being found guilty of trafficking 5.49 kilograms of methamphetamine in 2016.
The two defendants – Malaysian waiter Taza Tarji and an Indonesian contract worker named only as Herman – were charged under Section 39B (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, a crime which carries the death sentence, China Press reported.
The court heard the boat the pair was on was intercepted by police about 1.1 nautical miles off Tanjung Piai, Pontian, at 4:15pm on September 27, 2016. They told police they were fishing, but no fishing gear was found on board their boat.
However, police did find a backpack containing about 5.49 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine hidden in tubes which were wrapped in newspaper.
In court the men did not show reasonable cause for the presence of the backpack and their defense failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they were not guilty of drug trafficking. Both were found guilty of trafficking 5.49kg of methamphetamine and sentenced to death.
After sentencing, it was reported that Herman tried to kick a press photographer.