MIRI: A 34-year-old man was acquitted and discharged by the Magistrates’ Court here today on a charge of trafficking 6.4 kilogrammes (kg) of syabu at the Miri Airport arrival hall in August last year.
Magistrate Ashok Linggam made the ruling after the chemistry report on the seized items revealed that they did not contain any dangerous drugs as scheduled under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
In delivering his decision, he said the presence of scheduled drugs was an essential element in establishing an offence under the Act.
“For a prosecution to proceed, the essential elements of the case must be proven. However, the prosecution informed the court that the chemist found no drugs in the seized items. Therefore, the court finds that the essential element for this charge is lacking,” he said.
The accused, Danny Besar Balan, 34, had earlier pleaded not guilty to a charge under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Act 234), punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act, for allegedly trafficking in 6.4 kg of methamphetamine.
He was alleged to have committed the offence at about 10.40 pm on Aug 4, 2025, at the arrival hall of Miri Airport.
If convicted, he would have faced the death penalty or life imprisonment, and not fewer than 12 strokes of the cane.
It was understood that the case had been fixed today for transfer to the High Court for case management pending the chemistry report.
The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor, Muhammad Shafiq, while Danny was represented by counsel, Arthur Liang Dawat.
