SHAH ALAM: Family members shed tears of joy after the High Court here today ordered the release of a woman, her fiance and their friend, who were charged with drug trafficking, an offence that carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Judge Datuk Abdul Halim Aman ordered Kamarul Izwan Rasidi, his fiancee Nursyuhadah Md Zain, both 28, and their friend Amaluddin Gulam Mohamad, 26, to be acquitted and discharged after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
The three of them rushed to the public gallery to hug their family members soon after the proceedings ended.
Abdul Halim, in his judgment, said the prosecution failed to prove there was a prima facie case as the investigation was incomplete and not comprehensive.
“The investigating officer admitted that he failed to match the seven fingerprints on the exhibits to any of the accused due to problems with the fingerprint system and that the matter (detection of fingerprints) had to be sent to the forensics.
“The forensics department did it two days before the trial ended last July. This shows the insensitivity of the investigating officer. Based on these factors, the court ruled that all the three accused be acquitted and discharged,” he added.
Kamarul Izwan, Nursyuhadah and Amaluddin were jointly charged with trafficking in 512gm of cannabis at Jalan PJS 8/5, Sunway Mentari, Sungai Way, near here, at about 9pm on Feb 8, 2018.
Lawyers Mohamad Hafiz Jalaludin and Mohamad Salihen Mastor represented Kamarul Izwan, while Nursyuhadah was represented by lawyer Gerard Lazarus.
Amaluddin was represented by lawyers Datuk N. Sivananthan and Dhanyaa Shreeya, while deputy public prosecutor Zuraini Abdul Razak prosecuted. — Bernama
