Thai woman sentenced to death over 23 kg of cannabis in Alor Setar
The Alor Setar High Court sentenced Thai national Saowanee Srisar to death on 12 May 2014 for trafficking 23,123 grams of cannabis found in two bags at the Shahab Perdana bus terminal in 2012. The judge held the prosecution had proved possession, and the conviction carries a mandatory death sentence.
On 12 May 2014 the Alor Setar High Court sentenced Thai national Saowanee Srisar, 33, to death
for trafficking23,123 grams of cannabis.[1][2]Srisar, a divorcee formerly on the housekeeping
staff of a Bangkok hotel, was caught at the Shahab Perdana express bus terminal at about
8.45pm on 21 January 2012.[1][2]The cannabis was kept in two bags, one black and one
blue.[1]
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab held that the prosecution had proved
possession and that the accused had failed to raise doubt against its case.[1][2]A conviction
for trafficking under section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 carries a mandatory death
sentence.[1][2]The Court of Appeal record confirms the charge: 23,123 grams of cannabis at
Shahab Perdana on 21 January 2012.[3]After sentencing she stayed calm, smiled and hugged court
staff and police personnel before being led away.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Charged
1
Cannabis
23.123 kg
Agency type
Police, Court
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (23.123 kg)
Activity
Trafficking
Setting
Vehicle, Home
Case stage
Sentenced
Sentence
Death sentence
Sources
ASEAN NOWaseannow.comThai woman sentenced to death in Malaysia on cannabis smuggling charge
The 2015 Court of Appeal record (2015 MarsdenLR 2149) confirms the charge, but whether the appeal upheld or overturned the sentence could not be established from the opened judgement page.
The reports do not say how Saowanee came to carry the two bags or whether anyone else was involved.
No defence account beyond the finding that she failed to raise doubt against the prosecution case was published.
On 19 October 2026 the Sibu High Court sentenced Tiong Soon Hieng, 41, to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane for trafficking 5,081.06 g of cannabis. Judge Wong Siong Tung declined the death penalty and dated the term from his arrest on 6 January 2023 outside a coffee shop in Bintangor.
Cannabis 5.081 kgPrison life imprisonment and 12 strokes
Kuala Lumpur High Court on 29 September 2026 sentenced Dasham Novada Wickramathunga, 33, to 10 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to an alternative charge over about 2.57 kg of cannabis found at a Jalan Ipoh residence in April 2024.
S. Mohan, 38, and Ahmad Shamil Abdul Rashid, 28, were sentenced to 30 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane for trafficking 139 kg of cannabis from a Bangsar car park in 2022. The judge found the case proven beyond reasonable doubt; the prosecution had sought the heavy term over the quantity.
Malaysia's Federal Court reinstated the trafficking convictions and 30-year sentences of Azril Azhar Ahmad and Zulfattar Md Ridzuan for 264.36 g of cannabis, after the Court of Appeal had reduced the charge to possession. Both had been released in February 2026.