MELAKA: A man accused of drug trafficking six years ago surprised the Ayer Keroh High Court today when he asked the judge to hand down the death penalty to him.
According to the charge sheet, Ng Chan Keong, 39, was accused of trafficking 2.7 kilogrammes of methamphetamine on the emergency lane at KM 215 of the North-South Expressway, near Alor Gajah on Oct 2, 2018, at around 5pm.
"I want the death penalty. That's all," Ng said.
However, Judge Datuk Anselm Charles Fernandis reiterated that it was the court's right to determine the sentence and adjourned the proceedings for five minutes.
Upon resumption of proceedings, he sentenced the accused to life imprisonment starting from the date of his arrest on Oct 2, 2018, and 12 strokes of the rotan.
Earlier, in delivering his judgement, Anslem said after considering all the evidence and arguments from both the defence and prosecution, the court found that the accused failed to raise a reasonable doubt about the case.
He said, however, that the court was satisfied that the prosecution had proven the case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
He was charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and could be punished under Section 39B(2) of the same act, which carries the death penalty upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Asri Abdul Rahman Sidik and Nabilalif Mohd Rosli prosecuted, while the accused was represented by lawyer Wan Zaleha Abdul Wahab.
A total of 13 prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses gave their testimonies throughout the trial, which began on Sept 10, 2020.
Meanwhile, a female family member of the accused had tried to stop journalists from taking pictures of the accused after the proceedings concluded.
The accused had also verbally abused journalists before being calmed down by bailiffs.