SHAH ALAM: A Nigerian man facing the death penalty for trafficking 149.4 grammes of cocaine five years ago made a tearful plea to have his life spared at the High Court today.
Judge Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar before handing down her sentence, had asked Ngoforo Ebube Gospel,45, if he had anything to say to the court.
He had repeatedly asked the judge to give him another chance in life while maintaining his innocence.
"I am sorry for what had happened in 2019. Only God knows what happened. I am not a drug trafficker. I have never tasted or seen drugs all my life.
"I had no knowledge of the drugs. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Please give me another chance so that I can see my father and take care of my son," he pleaded in English.
Latifah then sentenced Ngoforo to 30 years jail from his arrest on Oct 25,2019 and given 12 strokes of the rotan for trafficking 149.4 grammes of cocaine at a commercial area in Petaling Jaya in 2019.
The abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 give judges the discretion to impose either the death penalty or imprisonment of not less than 30 years and up to 40 years.
She convicted and sentenced Ngoforo, a former Masters degree student at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTEM), after ruling that the prosecution had successfully proven their case beyond reasonable doubt.
"There is no doubt that he possessed the drugs as it was found with him in a car during the raid and he knew that the bag, containing the drugs, would be given to him.
"His defence that he was asked to take care of the bag by a man dressed in white who was going to the airport only raises questions as it is an easily carried sling bag.
"The prosecution have proven that the accused had exclusive control and care of the bag as he was the only one in the car and was driving it.
"The court finds that his defence is mere denial and has no merit. It failed to raise reasonable doubt to break the prosecution's case.
"From the facts of the case, it is clear that the drugs were not for his own consumption but to traffic,"she said.
The man dressed in white refers to another Nigerian man who had been acquitted of the same charge.
Latifah's sentence read out in Bahasa Melayu was translated to Igbo in Nigerian language by an interpreter.
Earlier in mitigation, lawyer Afifuddin Ahmad Hafifi said his client, who was pursuing his studies at the time of his arrest, was a first offender and remorseful.
He said Ngoforo was about to get married before his arrest and he has a son, 5, who is being taken care by his father,75, back home and his mother,70, was in poor health.
"He prays to be given a second chance and to return to his family. The punishment of death by hanging is not a suitable sentence to be passed. We pray for life imprisonment and whipping instead.
"There is no reasonable reason for the accused to be sentenced to death when there is no evidence that he was involved in immediate selling or buying of dangerous drugs.
"And there was no money transferred and third party in this case. He gave full cooperation to police and that should be taken as mitigating factor for the purposes of sentencing," he said.
However, deputy public prosecutor Mohammed Heikal Ismail said death by hanging was the only appropriate sentence to be served on the accused given the gravity of the offence.
"Drug trafficking is not petty and the substance is not ordinary, and cocaine is said to be expensive and I am sure it was for distribution to the public.
"I ask for the sentence of death by hanging to be given to serve as a lesson to the public and for the court to send a message that it is not a place to mess with.
"The court should not take into consideration the lawyer's mitigation citing hardship of his family. He had been convicted of the offence and the court does not need to sympathise with him," he said.
After proceedings, Afifuddin said they respected the court's decision and will appeal.