PETALING JAYA: Actor-cum-director Datuk Farid Kamil Zahari will be celebrating Aidilfitri behind bars at the Kajang Prison following the Magistrate’s Court here today sentencing him to nine months’ jail for drug abuse.
Magistrate Nor Ariffin Hisham, when handing down the sentence, ordered Farid Kamil, 38, to serve the sentence from today and to be placed on a two-year supervision under the National Anti-Drugs Agency.
In the judgment, Nor Ariffin said the court found that the prosecution had succeeded in establishing the case beyond reasonable doubt against Farid Kamil.
Lawyer Megat Syazlee Mokhtarom, representing Farid Kamil, sought a stay of the execution of the sentence, but was dismissed by the court.
The court had fixed today for Farid Kamil to enter his defence on the charge, but he chose to remain silent, leaving the court no choice, but to convict him.
In mitigation, Megat Syazlee requested the court to impose a fine on the actor, who has a wife and two children, saying that he is the sole family breadwinner and had also pleaded guilty to an alternative charge with giving false information in the same case.
The prosecution, conducted by deputy public prosecutor Alia Sumayyah Amran, requested the court to impose a heavy sentence considering public interest and the frequency of such cases happening.
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.
The charge under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 carries a maximum two years imprisonment or a RM5,000 fine or both upon conviction.
Last April 30, Farid Kamil was ordered to enter his defence and given a choice to either be silent or testify under oath.
He chose to testify under oath, but remained silent during the proceedings today. — Bernama
