TAWAU: A foreigner escaped the death penalty for the offence of distributing 55.86g of methamphetamine last year.
The High Court here substituted his sentence with 30 years in prison and 12 strokes of the rotan.
Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol meted the sentence to Asrizal Yusuf, 30, after finding that the prosecution had successfully proven the case beyond reasonable doubt at the end of the defence.
According to the charge, the father of two was accused of distributing 55.86g of methamphetamine at Kampung Sharip Jalan Silam, Lahad Datu, at 9am on May 4 last year.
The charge was made under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which carries the penalty under Section 39B(2) of the same act, stipulating a mandatory death sentence or life imprisonment, and if not sentenced to death, a punishment of not less than 15 strokes of the rotan, if found guilty.
The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Nur Nisla Abd Latif.
The accused was represented by lawyer Mohamed Zairi Zainal Abidin.
Earlier, Zairi, in his plea, requested the court to exercise its powers and discretion not to impose the mandatory death sentence and to consider an alternative sentence of 30 years and caning on his client.
"This is the defendant's first offence, and he is the breadwinner for his family. He has been arrested and separated from his family for more than a year," he said.
The court ordered the accused, who is also an Indonesian passport holder, to serve his prison sentence starting from the date of arrest, which was May 4, 2023.