Malaysian drug smugglers receive life sentences
Ni Komang Erviani, Contributor, Denpasar | Fri, 07/16/2010 11:51 AM
Two Malaysian nationals were on Wednesday sentenced to life in prison at Denpasar District Court for attempting to smuggle 2.2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine into the country.
Boo Guan Teik and Chang Cheng Weng were proven guilty of violating the 2009 Narcotics Law, the panel of judges said as they handed down the verdict. The verdict met prosecutors’ requests.
“The two defendants are guilty of committing the narcotics-related crime,” presiding judge I Nyoman Sutama said.
The judges also ordered the defendants to pay Rp 2 billion in fines or face an additional one year imprisonment.
The judges declared they saw no reason to lighten their sentences as their actions were considered detrimental to the Indonesian government’s efforts in combating drug-related crimes.
The judges said they would destroy two body packs used by the defendants to hide the drugs. The body packs, made of white fabric, each contained 1,060.20 gram and 1,109.65 gram crystal methamphetamine.
The defendants’ lawyer M. Husein said his team would consider challenging the verdict.
46-year-old Guan Teik and 39-year-old Cheng Weng were arrested on Jan. 20 by the customs and excise officers at Ngurah Rai International Airport as they arrived on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong. Showing suspicious behaviours, the two were detained and body packs were discovered strapped to their bodies.
