The Federal Court on Wednesday upheld the life imprisonment sentence and 12 strokes of the cane imposed on a lorry driver for trafficking 845 grammes of cannabis eight years ago.
A three-member panel comprising Court of Appeal President Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Jais and Federal Court judges Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali unanimously dismissed M Mugunthan’s appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Allan Suman Pillai, who represented the prosecution, confirmed the decision to Bernama.
In its unanimous ruling, the panel found that the High Court had made no conflicting findings regarding Mugunthan’s knowledge of the drugs. The prosecution had also established that he had custody and control of the cannabis through affirmative evidence.
The judges further held that the findings of the lower courts were consistent with and supported by the evidence presented. They found no error or misdirection that would warrant the Federal Court’s intervention.
On Aug 16, 2023, the High Court convicted Mugunthan, 46, of drug trafficking and sentenced him to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane. The sentence was ordered to run from the date of his arrest on April 10, 2018.
The offence took place at the car park of an apartment along Jalan Lengkuas in Shah Alam, Selangor, at about 4.35pm on April 10, 2018.
The High Court also found Mugunthan guilty of possessing 1.02 grammes of methamphetamine and 35.96 grammes of cannabis. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and four years’ imprisonment respectively, along with five strokes of the cane for the two offences.
The Court of Appeal subsequently dismissed his appeal against the conviction and sentence for drug trafficking on July 14 last year, upholding the High Court’s decision and paving the way for his appeal to the Federal Court.
Mugunthan later withdrew his appeal at the Court of Appeal against the conviction and sentences for the two possession charges after completing the prison terms imposed for those offences.
At the Federal Court on Wednesday, Mugunthan was represented by lawyers Afifuddin Ahmad Hafifi and Aina Melina Johan.
