Two women escape gallows after charge is reduced

 

Zawani Zulkifli meeting family members after she was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

PUTRAJAYA: Two women found with 212.7 gm of heroin and 82.2 gm of monoacetylmorphine at a condominium unit in Butterworth escaped the gallows when the charge against them was reduced from trafficking to one of possession.

Unemployed Zawani Zulkifli was instead sentenced to 15 years’ jail while Nur Zahirah Yusoff, an ex-ticketing agent for a bus company, was jailed 13 years from the date of arrest on Dec 18, 2016.

Court of Appeal judge Suraya Othman, who led a three-member bench, said there was a difference in their jail terms as Zawani had a previous conviction. Other members on the bench were Abu Bakar Jais and Ghazali Cha.

Suraya said the two friends were lucky as the prosecution had offered to reduce the charge. Both had appealed against conviction and their death sentences for trafficking.

“Both of you will get one-third remission of the jail term for good behaviour while in prison, where we hope you will turn over a new leaf.”

Abu Bakar said they should consider themselves lucky as the prosecution had agreed to reduce the charge on the eve of Awal Muharram (the Islamic New Year on Aug 10).

The women, both 34, allegedly committed the offence at the condominium unit at about 1.45pm on Dec 18, 2016.

At the outset of the appeal hearing today, Suraya said there was a serious misdirection by the trial judge as he had failed to indicate whether the conviction was based on actual or presumed trafficking.

Judge Akhtar Tahir convicted the women and sentenced them to death in 2019.

In mitigation, lawyer K Simon Murali submitted that his client Nur Zahirah had no previous convictions.

“She comes from a broken family and a background of abject poverty in Teluk Kumbar,” he said.

Both women had also been charged with trafficking drugs in another case in Penang but Nur Zahirah was acquitted by a different judge without her defence being called.

However, Zawani was convicted and sentenced to death. Her appeal before the Court of Appeal is pending.

Mohd Izhar Ahmad Azmi and Mohd Hafiz Jalaludin represented Zawani. - FMT