A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane by the High Court here on Tuesday after pleading guilty to trafficking nearly 7kg of methamphetamine two years ago.
Hii Sieng Kang, 30, entered his guilty plea after the charge was read to him in Mandarin before Judicial Commissioner Steve Ritikos.
According to the charge, the unemployed man trafficked 6,968.6 grammes of methamphetamine at the arrival hall of Tawau Airport at around 12.30pm on July 30, 2024.
He was charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act.
The offence carries the death penalty or life imprisonment. Where the death penalty is not imposed, the offender is liable to receive at least 12 strokes of the cane.
According to the facts of the case, Hii arrived at Tawau Airport on July 30, 2024, where a Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) officer became suspicious of his behaviour.
A subsequent inspection of the black luggage he was carrying uncovered 10 blue packages containing methamphetamine.
During mitigation, defence lawyer Vivian Thien urged the court to impose a lighter sentence, highlighting that Hii was a first-time offender.
She also told the court that her client had shown remorse and had pleaded guilty, which saved the court both time and the costs associated with a full trial.
The Judicial Commissioner subsequently gave Hii an opportunity to make his own plea before he asked for his prison sentence to be calculated from the date of his arrest.
The court then ordered Hii to serve 30 years’ imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane, with the sentence backdated to July 30, 2024, the date of his arrest.
The prosecution was conducted by RMCD Legal Division Deputy Public Prosecutor Arif Mohamad Shariff.
