Contractor freed of drug trafficking charge

KUALA LUMPUR: A contractor escaped the gallows when the High Court here today acquitted and discharged him on a drug trafficking charge involving 943g of cannabis two years ago.
Judge Datuk Ab Karim Ab Rahman ordered Syed Mohd Nizam Syed Kamil to be freed at the end of the prosecution case after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against him.
In his decision, Ab Karim said the court found that the accused had no control and custody of the drug that was found as the house where the drug was found was accessible to others.
"Therefore, the accused is acquitted and discharged from the charge without having to enter his defence," he added.
Syed Mohd Nizam, 34, was charged with trafficking in the drug at a house in Jalan Raja Alang, Kampung Baru, Dang Wangi, at about 5pm on Jun 24, 2014.
The charge, under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Nordin Ismail prosecuted, while lawyer Hasnal Redzua Merican represented Syed Mohd Nizam. — Bernama