Ex-diplomat, son freed of drug charges

 Their legal team says the judge cited significant investigative gaps, topographical impossibilities, and a failure to link the accused to the contraband found on the property.

Zainal Abidin Alias and his son, Rizal Zainal Abidin, outside the Raub sessions court on June 8, 2022. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 A former diplomat and his son were today acquitted and discharged of charges related to drug trafficking and cultivating more than 100 cannabis plants at a house in Janda Baik, Pahang, four years ago.

Former ambassador Zainal Abidin Alias, 82, and his son Rizal, 56, were also freed of a charge of possessing cannabis oil. The trafficking charge carried a mandatory death sentence if convicted.

Ruling at the end of the prosecution’s case, Temerloh High Court judge Roslan Mat Noor said that a prima facie case had not been established against the duo.

Zainal and Rizal were freed of all three charges without being called to enter their defence.

In a statement, their legal team Messrs Shafee & Co said Roslan cited significant investigative gaps, topographical impossibilities, and a failure to link the accused to the contraband found on the property.

The court accepted the defence’s argument that the 102 cannabis plants discovered on the property were physically invisible from Zainal’s location at the time of arrest.

The judge noted that the undulating terrain, steep slopes, and dense tropical foliage created a “shadow zone”, making it impossible for the then 78-year-old Zainal to have seen or known about the cultivation beds from the garage or main house.

The court ruled the prosecution failed to prove that the accused had exclusive control over the premises, with evidence emerging during the trial that the house was unlocked and accessible to multiple third parties.

Crucially, forensic evidence revealed the DNA of unidentified individuals, including a profile labelled “Female 1” in the room where drugs were seized. The court found the prosecution had not excluded these individuals as the potential owners of the drugs.

The court also noted that Rizal was arrested in Shah Alam, over 60km away from the house in Janda Baik. The digital forensic analysis of seized devices showed a “total vacuum” of communication – no texts, calls, or emails – linking the father and son to a joint criminal enterprise.

The court also observed that Zainal’s conduct during the police raid was that of a cooperative and surprised individual. He showed no signs of fear or flight, and his willingness to lead police into the house negatived an inference of guilty knowledge, said Messrs Shafee & Co in the statement.

The father and son were arrested on May 21, 2022, in what the police said was the largest cannabis plant seizure, as past cases only involved plants grown in pots.

The alleged offence took place at Kampung Sum Sum in Janda Baik, Pahang, where authorities said they found 102 cannabis plants with a street value of about RM61,200 planted in rows around the house, 1.02kg of dried cannabis leaves, and a bottle of liquid believed to be cannabis oil.

The accused were represented by Shafee Abdullah, Farhan Shafee, Wee Yeong Kang and M Naresh of Messrs Shafee & Co.

The prosecution was conducted by state prosecution director Shahrizat Ismail, Intan Nur Hilwani Rifin and Nur Syafiqah Noorinda. - FMT