PUTRAJAYA, June 26 — The Court of Appeal commuted the death sentence of a former odd-job worker today to 30 years' jail on two counts of trafficking 245kg of cannabis in 2016.
The court also ordered Mohd Faizal Zainal Abidin, 46, to be given 24 strokes of the rotan.
The Court of Appeal's three-member panel, consisting of judges Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, Datuk Azmi Ariffin, and Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, ordered the accused to serve the sentence concurrently from the date of his arrest on March 13, 2016.
Justice Ruzima, in delivering the court’s decision, said that based on the submission by Mohd Faizal’s lawyer Gurbachan Singh, the court has decided to uphold Faizal’s conviction for the offences.
However, the court is exercising its discretion to substitute the death sentence for life imprisonment of 30 years and 12 strokes of the rotan for each offence.
On September 9, 2022, the High Court sentenced Faizal to death after finding him guilty of the two charges of trafficking the drug at a house in Jalan USJ 13/3E, Subang Jaya, Selangor, at 3pm on March 12, 2016, and at a parking lot in USJ 13/3E, Subang Jaya, Selangor at the same time and day.
— Bernama
