PUTRAJAYA, Nov 30 — Actor-director Farid Kamil Zahari was fined RM5,000 for administering drugs to himself four years ago.
This followed the Court of Appeal’s decision today in allowing his appeal to set aside his nine-month jail sentence imposed by the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court in 2019 and substituted the sentence for a fine instead.
The three-panel bench led by Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said, however, upheld a two-year supervision by the National Anti-Drug Agency on the actor and ordered him to serve six months in jail if he failed to pay the fine.
Farid Kamil paid the fine.
Kamaludin, who sat with Judges Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Datuk See Mee Chun, in a unanimous decision, said the Magistrate’s Court was inconsistent in its consideration when passing down the jail sentence against Farid Kamil.
The judge said there was no concrete explanation that can state that the punishment is commensurate with the offence committed at the time and that were aggravating aspects, such as past offences.
“In this case, we found the facts quite straightforward and did not lead to a too serious or heavy offence,” he said.
On May 15, 2019, the Magistrate’s Court sentenced the actor to nine months jail after finding him guilty of using the THC drug or '11-nor-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid' at the narcotics office of the Petaling Jaya Police headquarters at 4.30pm on January 11, 2018.
In November 2019, the Shah Alam High Court upheld the sentence which prompted the actor to file an appeal to the Appeals Court.
His wife, actress Diana Danielle, and his brother, Fadzil, were present at the court today.
When met outside the court, Farid Kamil expressed his gratitude for today’s decision, which he described as the best for him.
“I am so happy now that the case is finally settled and I can focus on my next film, Anwar, which is now at the final stage of filming and scheduled to hit the cinemas in February next year,” he said.
Farid Kamil was represented by lawyers Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Kee Wei Lon and Low Wei Loke, while deputy public prosecutor Eyu Ghim Siang appeared for the prosecution.
— Bernama
