Kota Kinabalu: A 53-year-old man who was sentenced to two years jail and four lashes of the cane for having 22.62gm syabu was freed of the charge. High Court Judge Datuk Celestina Stuel Galid in her reserved decision, allowed the appellant, Jamil Mokti’s appeal against his conviction and sentence.

Jamil was on Dec 7, 2023 convicted and found guilty by the Papar Magistrate’s Court for having the drug on Oct 18, 2021, at 1.10pm, in a house at Kg Kabang, Papar. The charge is framed under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under Section 39A(1) of the same Act. Jamil was represented by counsel Mohd Azhier Farhan Arisin while Deputy Public Prosecutor Dana Arabi Wazani for the prosecution as the respondent.

In another case, a woman was ordered to pay a RM100 fine or three days jail for fraudulently having RM700 deposited into her bank account, last year. Caimy Loris pleaded guilty before Magistrate Wan Farrah Farriza Wan Ghazali to having the money belonging to Azman Kahar in her CIMB Bank account, in which she failed to give a satisfactory explanation on how she obtained it on Dec 30, 2023. The charge under Section 22A (1) of the Minor Offences Ordinance (MOO), which provides a fine of RM100 or up to three months jail or both on conviction.

The facts of the case revealed that Caimy’s bank account showed a transaction linked to the complainant, who had fallen victim to a scam after responding to an advertisement on Facebook about a non-existent homestay here.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yuvan Bharathan prosecuted.