JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 7 — A 31-year-old Vietnamese woman was charged in the Magistrate’s Court here today with multiple drug offences, including trafficking more than 5kg of MDMA, following a major drug bust two weeks ago.
The accused, Vo Thi Be Thu, indicated she understood the charges after they were read to her in Mandarin.
Before Magistrate A. Shaarmini, Vo was charged with trafficking 5,286g of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in an apartment unit at Persiaran Sutera Danga at 2.00 pm on July 25.
No plea was recorded for this charge as capital punishment cases are under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
The charge, framed under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) 1952, carries a mandatory death penalty or life imprisonment with a minimum of 15 strokes of the cane upon conviction.
In the same court, Vo pleaded not guilty to two separate charges of possessing another 20g of MDMA and 9g of ketamine at the same location, time, and date.
These charges were framed under Section 12(2) of the DDA and are punishable under Section 39A(1) of the same act.
Before yet another magistrate, Nur Fatin Mohamad Farid, Vo also pleaded not guilty to possessing 11g of ketamine in another unit within the same apartment at 3.20 pm on the same date. This charge was similarly framed under Section 12(2) of the DDA.
Two other charges before Magistrate Nabilah Nizam were postponed to August 27 pending the appointment of a Vietnamese interpreter.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutors Manushri Suthakar and Siti Aishah Latif. Both courts set October 7 for the next mention of the cases, pending chemistry reports.
No bail was offered.
On Sunday, outgoing Johor police chief Datuk M. Kumar announced that police had crippled a drug trafficking syndicate, believed to be masterminded by a Vietnamese woman, following a raid on two apartment units.
In the raid, police seized various drugs estimated to be worth more than RM4.9 million. Kumar said the syndicate, believed to have been active since April, was allegedly processing and repackaging drugs for distribution to the local market.
