Harrowing cries of single mother handed death sentence captured in viral video

A video featuring the harrowing cries of a single mother right after she was handed a mandatory death sentence for the possession and distribution of illegal narcotics has gone viral.

Hairun Jalmani, 55, a single mother of nine was sentenced to mandatory death at the Tawau High Court, Sabah on Friday after being found guilty of possessing and distributing drugs three years ago.

She broke down into sobs and shouted for help, and was led away weeping by a police official.

High Court judge Alwi Abdul Wahab passed the sentence after finding that the prosecution succeeded in creating a prima facie case while the defence failed to raise reasonable doubts.

The accused, who is also a fish seller, was charged with possessing syabu weighing 113.9g in an unnumbered house in Kampung Pangkalan Wakuba, Batu 15, Jalan Apas, Tawau, Sabah at 5.30pm, on Jan 10, 2018.

She was charged under Section 39B (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which provides for mandatory death sentence.

The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohammed Ali Imran, while the accused was represented by lawyer Darmin Acho.

The prosecution presented four witnesses while the defence presented two witnesses including the accused herself.

Drug law reform advocates say that a vast majority of the over 1,300 prisoners on death row are there due to narcotics-related offences, and most of them sentenced are either addicts, drug mules, or small-time operators.

Meanwhile, Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, who is part of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Science Council, described the single mother’s experience as “beyond terrible”.

“It’s time to get the conversation and work on abolishing the death penalty going again.

“It is always those who are desperate and at the bottom end of the chain that pays the price. It hasn’t and will never solve the drug problem,” she said on Twitter. - Mkini