Brunei’s Court of Appeal dismissed Muhammad Mustaqim Mustofa bin Abdullah’s appeal against his death sentence for cannabis trafficking, leaving the hanging ordered by the High Court in February 2017 in place.[1] The appeal court disagreed with his claim that the trial judges had ignored the delay between the Narcotics Control Bureau obtaining the drugs and sending them for analysis, finding they had considered the case in detail with clear evidentiary support.[1]
The High Court had sentenced the 26-year-old Malaysian to death by hanging for possessing cannabis for trafficking purposes after a month-long trial.[2] Officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau, acting on a public tip, had arrested him on 7 May 2014 beside his green car near a mobile-phone shop at Kampong Petani in Tutong, finding two bags of cannabis in the vehicle and another packet in a safe in his bedroom at Kampong Jerudong.[2] In total he held over six kilogrammes: the first charge, covering 600 grammes, carried the death penalty, while the second charge carried up to 20 years in prison and 15 strokes of the cane.[2] The later account records five years’ imprisonment and five strokes for that second charge.[1]
Mustaqim admitted in court that he and another person had bought the cannabis in Kuala Lumpur on 5 May 2014 for $7,500 and smuggled it into Brunei through Miri hidden in potato-crisp bags.[2] He claimed he had meant to throw the drugs into the jungle, but the court rejected that given the price paid and the cross-border smuggling.[2]