Man charged with trafficking 1.6kg cannabis escapes gallows

PUTRAJAYA - A former sofa repair workshop worker escaped the gallows when the Court of Appeal here today set aside his conviction and death sentence on the charge of trafficking 1.6 kilogrammes of cannabis, four years ago.

The panel of three judges led by Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said ordered that the man, Ahmad Kamil Anuar, 37, be acquitted and discharged of the charge after finding errors with regard to the facts and law by the High Court judge when convicting him for the offence of drug trafficking.

"We are satisfied that the conviction against the appellant is not safe to be maintained. Therefore, the conviction is set aside and the appellant is acquitted and discharged,” said Justice Kamaludin who sat on the panel with Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Datuk Hashim Hamzah.

The appellant’s wife, who was present during today’s proceeding, was seen sobbing when the panel of judges gave the decision and immediately after the proceeding, Ahmad Kamil’s father who also shed tears, approached him and gently rubbed his head before approaching his daughter-in-law to calm her down.

Ahmad Kamil had appealed against the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision made on Sept 28, 2020 of sentencing him to death by hanging after finding him guilty of trafficking 1.6 kg of cannabis at an apartment in Wangsa Maju at 3.45pm on Oct 7, 2018.

He was charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

At today’s proceeding, deputy public prosecutor Atiqah Abdul Karim @ Husaini appeared for the prosecution while lawyers Ahmad Zaharil Muhaiyar and Bisyri Abdul Razak represented Ahmad Kamil. - BERNAMA