TAWAU: An unemployed man was sentenced to death for a drug trafficking offence he committed three years ago. High Court Judge Dr Lim Hock Leng passed the sentence on the accused, Matin Sahid, 34, from Kampung Sungai Tuda, Kalabakan, after finding him guilty of the charge under Section 39B (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. In his judgement, Lim said the prosecution had succeeded in proving their case that the accused was arrested when packing syabu. He explained that items and equipment believed to be used to pack the drugs were also confiscated, including digital scales, modified "straws", as well as transparent plastic packages. "The defence narrative submitted by the accused that his presence at the scene to borrow a helmet was just an excuse and hard to believe. Therefore, the defence failed to raise reasonable doubts on the prosecution's case and the accused is found guilty under Section 39B (2) of the DDA 1952 and sentenced to death by hanging," he said. According to the charge sheet, Matin was charged with distributing syabu weighing 169.60 grams, at an unnumbered house in Kampung Mangga, Kalabakan at 1pm on Oct 17, 2018. For the offence, he was charged under Section 39B (1) (a) of the DDA 1952 (Act 234) which is punishable under Section 39 (2) of the same act which carries the death penalty, if convicted. When the sentence was read out, the accused was seen tearing while lowering his face and glancing at family members who were present in the courtroom. During the trial which began in October last year, the prosecution led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohammed Ali Imran called three witnesses while the accused, represented by lawyer Muhammad Abdul Karim, only featured the accused as a witness. Retrieved from net.com. my: Published on January 6, 2022