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13.48 Kgs of heroin found in the false bottoms of 5 suit-
cases. The 5 to whom the cases belonged were charged with
possession of and trafficking in dangerous drugs and the
other 4 with aiding and abetting. All 9 pleaded not guilty
and elected to go for trial in the High Court.
the
9. At the time of their arrest, the penalty for trafficking in dangerous drugs could be death or life imprisonment;
High Court had the power to order death sentences for
trafficking over 100 grams of heroin. On 16 April 1983 the
death sentence was made mandatory for trafficking 15 grams or
more of heroin.
10. After a trial lasting 40 days all 9 were found guilty on
7 May 1985; 8 were sentenced to death and one, Tam Tak Wai,
to life imprisonment and 8 strokes of the cane. Tam was the youngest of the group and the judge considered that there
were extenuating circumstances that justified a sentence of
life imprisonment.
11. The Supreme Court on 4 May 1989 dismissed the appeals
except for Tam Tak Wai who was acquitted on the grounds of
insufficient evidence.
12.
The official attitude towards drug offences in Malaysia
remains extreme. In 1986, 13 prisoners were hanged including
4 foreigners, one of whom was Barlow. In 1987, the figure
was 17 including 2 foreigners.
John Harian
JC Harrison
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