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Malaysian meth courier gets death penalty
The Pekanbaru District Court in Riau sentenced on Tuesday a 55-year-old Malaysian national to death for the possession of 46
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he Pekanbaru District Court in Riau sentenced on Tuesday a 55-year-old Malaysian national to death for the possession of 46.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine.
In their verdict, the panel of judges said that evidence and testimonies from witnesses presented in previous hearings had suggested that Ng Hai Kuan, or Jimmy, was the owner of 93 packages of crystal meth that had been confiscated by the Riau Police's narcotics directorate from a hotel room in Pekanbaru in April.
'The defendant has been proven to have committed a crime as he has no right to import or distribute non-plant narcotics weighing more than 5 grams. This violates Article 113, point 2 and Article 132, point 1 of the 2009 Narcotics Law,' presiding judge Amin Ismanto said when reading out the verdict.
Earlier, Riau prosecutors demanded that the panel of judges hand down the maximum punishment for the defendant for violating the two articles, which carried a possible death sentence.
Jimmy, according to the prosecutors, played the role of courier by taking the meth, which was worth Rp 180 billion (US$12.5 million), from a Malaysian identified with the initials ABE to a man in Palembang, South Sumatra. For the service, Jimmy, who entered Indonesia through Dumai Port, was paid RM 5,000 ($1,163).
The panel of judges said an aggravating factor was that the defendant had been previously arrested by Malaysian authorities in two illegal drug possession cases.
In mid-2004, Jimmy was arrested by the Malaysian police for the possession of several ecstasy pills and was detained for seven days. He was later released after paying bail of RM 2,000. Four years later, Jimmy was once again arrested for the possession of an ecstasy pill but was soon released after paying RM 4,000 in bail.
Jimmy looked shocked upon hearing the verdict. Amin needed to call his name three times as the defendant did not immediately respond to the judge's verdict.
After a brief consultation with his lawyer, Syahrir, Jimmy said he would file an appeal against the verdict with a higher court.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Syahrir said the panel of judges had made a mistake in their verdict, arguing that his client had been only a courier, not an importer.
'He's not the one who took the drugs from Malaysia. He received them in Dumai,' he said.
Despite the harsh penalties imposed on drug dealers, drug abuse continues in Indonesia. The current number of drug users has reportedly reached 4 million people, or 2.18 percent of the population, up from 3.3 million in 2008. The government also claimed that drug abuse has caused Rp 63 trillion in economic losses.
Defying international pressure, the government executed 14 death row prisoners in the first four months of the year, including 12 foreign nationals, in an attempt to curb the distribution of illegal drugs in the country.
Earlier this month, Bali law enforcers arrested an Indian national for allegedly attempting to smuggle 1.5 kilograms of crystal meth onto the popular resort island through Ngurah Rai International Airport.
The Bali Police said they would charge the man, Sayed Mohammed Said, under Article 113 of the Narcotics Law and Article 102 of the 2006 Customs Law, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment and a Rp 5 billion fine.
