Kuala lumpur: The Court of Appeal has upheld the 30-year imprisonment sentences imposed on a husband and wife for drug trafficking and possession offences. The three-member bench comprising Federal Court judge Datuk Azmi Ariffin, sitting as Court of Appeal judge, Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid dismissed the appeals by Abdul Aziz Yahya and Ramizah Rahmat against their conviction and sentences.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Justice Hayatul Akmal, in the grounds of judgment dated June 26, stated that the court found no merit in the appeals, which did not warrant appellate intervention in respect of the High Court's decision. She noted that the defence had failed to raise any reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case. The appellants' contention that the drugs did not belong to them and had been placed there by others, claiming the house and toilet where the drugs were found were accessible to their relatives and workshop employees, was not supported by credible evidence.
Justice Hayatul Akmal further stated that the sentences imposed by the High Court on both appellants were fair and just, thus upholding them. Abdul Aziz, 54, and Ramizah, 35, were found guilty by the High Court on December 12, 2024, of two charges of drug trafficking and several charges of drug possession. They were each sentenced to 30 years' jail for trafficking 415.06 grammes and 92.90 grammes of methamphetamine. Additionally, the couple was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for possession of 3.23 grammes of heroin and another five years for possessing 4.75 grammes of methamphetamine.
Furthermore, Abdul Aziz received a four-year imprisonment sentence for possessing 4.10 grammes of methamphetamine and a further three years' jail term for possession of 2.58 grammes of methamphetamine. He was spared the caning as he is over 50 years old. The High Court ordered that all sentences run concurrently. The offences were committed at a house in Felda Bukit Aping Timur, Kota Tinggi, Johor, at 4.55 am on April 24, 2021.
According to the facts of the case, police raided the house in the early hours and recovered various drugs from several locations within the house, including a packet concealed beneath floor tiles.