Federal Court upholds death sentence over 1.24 kg of cannabis in Sandakan
Malaysia's Federal Court in Kota Kinabalu on 19 March 2007 dismissed Basil Omar's final appeal, affirming the mandatory death sentence imposed for trafficking 1,241 grams of cannabis found in a taxi in Sandakan in 1990.
Malaysia’s Federal Court, sitting in Kota Kinabalu, unanimously dismissed on Monday 19 March 2007 the appeals of two death-row prisoners, including 36-year-old Basil Omar.[1][2]Omar had been sentenced to death by hanging by the Sandakan High Court on 26 September 1994 for trafficking1,241 grams of cannabis found in a taxi in front of the general market in Sandakan on 31 January 1990.[1]He was charged under section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries a mandatory death sentence, and the Court of Appeal had affirmed the conviction and sentence on 3 June 2002.[1]
His co-appellant Mohamed Hj Muslimin, whose death sentence was for a 1992 firearms offence against a policeman, also lost his appeal; that non-cannabis case is not covered here.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
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.