KUCHING: The High Court on Monday sentenced a man to 15 years’ imprisonment for possessing 3.6kg of methamphetamine on his arrival at Kuching International Airport (KIA) on Oct 30, 2019.
Judicial Commissioner Zaleha Mohd Yusuf Pan ordered Sivankumaran Murugaya to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest after he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge on Jan 28 this year.
He was charged under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39A(2) of the same Act.
The court also allowed an application by his counsel Lim Lian Kee for Sivankumaran to serve his sentence at Johor Bahru Prison, as he is from Johor.
Lim said the application was made to allow the accused’s family to visit him more regularly.
Upon conviction under Section 39A(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, an offender may be sentenced to imprisonment and whipping.
However, for Sivankumaran, no whipping was imposed as he is now 50 years old, and will turn 51 this September.
According to the facts of the case, Sivankumaran and his alleged accomplice, Melissa Mariadass, 33, arrived at KIA from Penang International Airport with one piece of luggage each.
After collecting their baggage from the carousel, they proceeded to the arrival hall scanner for screening.
Customs officers detected a suspicious image in Melissa’s luggage and decided to conduct an inspection.
At about the same time, another officer noticed Sivankumaran attempting to push his luggage past the scanner towards the exit.
He was stopped and instructed to have his bag scanned.
After suspicious images were detected, officers inspected his luggage.
When asked to open it, Sivankumaran claimed he had lost the padlock key and was unable to do so. He was then escorted to a meeting room for further inspection.
Several officers from the Customs Department’s Narcotics Branch later arrived to conduct a detailed examination of both suspects and their luggage.
Inside Sivankumaran’s bag, officers found a large box labelled “2 in 1 barbecue pot” and another labelled “premium coffee”.
Further inspection revealed clothes and four rectangular packages wrapped in transparent plastic, along with an additional package containing crystalline substance.
The substance tested positive for methamphetamine and a chemical analysis conducted on Dec 3, 2019 confirmed that the seized drugs weighed 3.6kg.
Investigations also revealed that Sivankumaran had travelled with the luggage from Kuala Lumpur to Penang by bus before flying from Penang to Kuching.
He was initially charged with drug trafficking under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39B(2).
However, the charge was later reduced to Section 12(2), read together with Section 39A(2), after his counsel submitted three representations for a lesser offence.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to the reduced charge.
Meanwhile, the court has fixed May 11-15 for the trial of Melissa’s case.
The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Syawani Zawawi.
