ON DEATH ROW: Shahrul Izani being escorted out of the courtroom by police this morning. Pic: Samsul Said
A man broke down in tears when the High Court sentenced him to death this morning for possessing 622g of cannabis on Sept 25, 2003.
Shahrul Izani Suparman was 19 when he was caught for committing the offence. He is now 25.
His lawyer, Suzanawati Ismail, argued that the accused was unaware of the content of the items he was carrying as he was only helping his friend to deliver them.
According to the police report, Shahrul Izani had tried to escape from the police when he was ordered to stop while riding a motorcycle along Jalan Rantau Panjang in Klang.
On Sept 25, 2003, Shahrul was arrested after he overtook a police patrol car and made a U-turn. He was riding a motorcycle without the lights on.
When the police ordered him to stop, Shahrul Izani dropped his bike and tried to escape on foot but the police managed to apprehend him.
The drugs, packed in two separate newspaper wrappings, were found in the motorcycle's basket. Shahrul Izani was charged under Section 39B (1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries a death sentence upon conviction.
He was already jailed for six years in Sungai Buloh prison from 2003. Suzanawati also appealed to the court asking for lesser punishment as this was the accused's first offence.
In his defense, his lawyer said he was trying to escape the police as he knew he was guilty for riding the motorcycle without the lights on. "The accused also realised the mistake he made and repented during the jail sentence," Suzanawati said.
Shahrul, who is fifth out of nine siblings admitted getting money for helping his friend for delivering the items in two separate occasions.
He said his friend paid him RM 50 and RM 100 on both occasions, but Shahrul denied knowing anything about the content of the packs he was asked to deliver.
However, the judge, Datuk Mohd Zaki Yasin has ruled death sentence for his crime. Shahrul has until Jan 11 to appeal to court's decision.
