KOTA KINABALU: A single mother of nine children escaped the gallows after the Court of Appeal here overturned her drug trafficking conviction and sentenced her to 12 years' jail instead.
Hairun Jalmani, 62, was arrested for trafficking 113.9 grams of syabu on Jan 10, 2018 at 5.30am at an unnumbered house in Kg. Pengkalan Wakuba, Jalan Apau Tawau. She had spent more than five years in prison.
Judges Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said, Datuk Azman Abdullah, and Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli unanimously meted out the sentence after replacing the conviction into drug possession under Section 39A (2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) 1952.
Hairun, who shed tears of joy in the dock, was ordered to serve the jail sentence from the date of her arrest.
Hairun, on Oct 15, 2021, was sentenced to death by the Tawau High Court after a full trial under Section 39B (1) (a) of DDA.
A video of Hairun sobbing uncontrollably right following her sentencing has gone viral on social networks and triggered debate over Malaysia's capital punishment system.
Counsels Sherzali Herza Asli and Nurul Rafeeqa Afdul Mutolip who represented Hairun on a pro-bono basis in this appeal, had on Aug 29, this year, written a representation letter to the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) requesting to overturn Hairun's Section 39B conviction and replace it with Section 39A(2).
Section 39A (2) provides for life imprisonment or a jail term of not less than five years, and whipping of not less than 10 strokes upon conviction.
The AGC, on Sept 6, this year, issued a reply confirming that it is agreeable to accept the appellant's representation.
In today's proceeding, Sherzali when mitigating on behalf of Hairun among others said that the latter was born in the Philippines and moved to Malaysia with hopes of providing a better life for her children.
Hairun became the sole breadwinner of her family after the sudden death of her husband. Being undocumented, and lack of employment opportunities are only some of the countless socio-economic factors that contribute to drug-related offences, he said.
Sherzali cited previous cases and proposed five years and nine months imprisonment from the date of arrest – Jan 10, 2018, to be imposed on the appellant.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari also submitted trends of sentencing on drug possession cases in the country and proposed 13 years imprisonment.