PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today allowed an application by actor-director Datuk Farid Kamil Zahari (pix) to postpone the nine-month sentence imposed on him for a drug conviction, pending his appeal against a High Court order.
A three-member panel led by Justice Datuk Yaacob Md Sam granted a stay of execution and ordered Farid Kamil to pay bail of RM10,000 with one surety, and to surrender his passport to the court.
“However, the applicant (Farid Kamil) may apply to have his passport returned temporarily if needed,“ said Justice Yaacob who presided with Justices P. Ravinthran and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais.
In mid-November, Farid Kamil was ordered to serve the sentence after the Shah Alam High Court dismissed his appeal against the jail sentence imposed by the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court on May 15.
Earlier, lawyer Kee Wei Lon applied for the stay of execution pending the outcome of the appeal on Jan 7, 2020.
Deputy public prosecutor Tengku Intan Suraya Tengku Ismail did not object to the request.
Earlier Farid Kamil served the sentence at the Kajang Prison after the High Court upheld the decision made by the magistrate’s court.
However, on June 19, the High Court allowed the actor’s application to postpone the jail sentence he was serving, pending his appeal and he was released from prison.
During the trial which began on Dec 18, 2018 at the magistrate’s court, five prosecution witnesses were called to testify while the actor chose to remain silent.
According to the law, if the accused chooses to remain silent, the court has no choice but to convict the accused.
Farid Kamil was charged with using “11-nor-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid” or the THC drug at the narcotics office, Petaling Jaya district police headquarters at 4.30pm on Jan 11, last year. — Bernama
