KOTA BARU: Two siblings, the sons of a doctor in Ketereh, were brought before a Magistrate’s Court here on Monday (Aug 18) to face separate charges of trafficking cannabis totalling 35.58kg on Aug 5, Sinar Harian reports.
The accused, Ahmad Ammar Rusydi Mohd Hanafi, 23, and his brother Mohammed Hibatul-Alimi, 34, were charged before Magistrates’ Rais Imran Hamid and Wan Mohd Izzat Wan Abdullah, respectively.
However, no plea was recorded from either of them after the charges were read, the Malay language daily reported.
According to the charge against Ahmad Ammar Rusydi, he is accused of trafficking 14.78kg of cannabis at a house in Kampung But, Ketereh at 4:30am on Aug 5.
For the charge against Mohammed Hibatul-Alimi, he is accused of trafficking 20.8kg of the same drug at the same time, date, and place.
They were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act, providing for the death penalty or life imprisonment and, if not sentenced to death, shall be subject to a maximum of 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
The prosecution is being handled by Deputy Public Prosecutors Muhammad Syamsul Ikhmal Ramli and Nur Haziqah Hassan, while both defendants are represented by lawyer Muhammad Hasif Hasan.
The case is set for mention on Oct 16 and 27, pending chemical report results.
Meanwhile, at the Sessions Court here, Ahmad Ammar Rusydi was also charged with another offence of possessing a Glock AEKZ847 Mariner 9×19 USA firearm along with 16 live bullets at the same location, time, and date.
He pleaded not guilty and requested a trial before Judge Zulkifli Abdullah.
For this charge, he is being prosecuted under Section 8 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, which provides for imprisonment of up to 14 years and a minimum of six strokes of the cane, if convicted.
The prosecution is conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Faiz Fitri Mohamad, and the defendant is also represented by lawyer Muhammad Hasif.
For this case, the court has set the next mention date on Sept 22, and both defendants were denied bail.