Appeals Court upholds acquittal of Mat Sabu's son over drug abuse charge

 

Ahmad Saiful Islam, the son of former defence minister Mohamad Sabu, remains free of the drug abuse charge made against him three years ago.

This followed the decision made by the three-member panel of the Appeals Court led by justice Kamaludin Md Said in rejecting the prosecution’s appeal against the High Court’s decision to acquit and discharge the 34-year-old man of the charge last year.

“After weighing the submissions from both parties, the court did not agree with the prosecution’s argument that the High Court judge had erred factually and legally in allowing Ahmad Saiful Islam’s appeal.

“The court is also satisfied that the High Court judge had weighed all the statements thoroughly, and this court finds no doubts in the judge’s decision to acquit and discharge Ahmad Saiful.

“Therefore, the prosecution’s appeal is rejected, and the High Court’s decision stays,” said Justice Kamaludin. The other two judges in the panel were M Gunalan and Hashim Hamzah.

Ahmad Saiful Islam was charged with using a THC-type drug at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur at 2.05am on Jan 5, 2019.

On Oct 27 last year, the High Court acquitted and discharged him of the drug abuse charge after allowing his appeal to quash the conviction and jail sentence imposed by the Magistrate’s Court on June 24, 2020.

Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah, in his judgment, said the taking of only one bottle of urine had left open the possibility of contamination as the same sample was used both by the police for the screening test and the chemist for the confirmatory test.

He said the failure of the police to abide by the guidelines in omitting to take two bottles of urine has rendered the conviction flawed.

Prior to that, Magistrate Mohamad Aizat Abdul Rahim sentenced Ahmad Saiful Islam to eight months in jail after finding that the defence had failed to raise a reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.

Deputy public prosecutor K Mangai prosecuted, while Ahmad Saiful Islam was represented by lawyers Nicholas Kow, Nasar Khan and Emile Ezra Hussain.

- Bernama