Gombak clerk sentenced to death over 858 g of cannabis
The High Court on 18 December 2007 sentenced courier clerk Razali Ahmad, 33, to death for trafficking 858 grams of cannabis found in his sling bag in Gombak in 2003. A 2023 report identified him as a long-serving death-row prisoner whose case drew renewed attention during penalty reforms.
Courier company clerk Razali Ahmad, 33, of Gombak was sentenced to death by the High Court on 18 December 2007 for trafficking in cannabis.[1]He was found guilty of trafficking 858 grams of cannabis found in his sling bag in a house in Jalan Dewan Gombak Setia, Gombak, at about 5.45am on 6 August 2003.[1]Judicial Commissioner Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim ruled that the prosecution had proved its case, and the charge carried the mandatory death sentence.[1]
The prosecution called eight witnesses while Razali was the only witness for the defence.[1]He was represented by counsel James George while deputy public prosecutor Shoba Venu Gobal appeared for the prosecution.[1]
Later attention
Razali’s mother Siti Zabidah Muhammad Rasyid said her son had been on death row for two decades after being caught with cannabis, and that a friend had forced him to carry the drugs before making him a scapegoat.[2]She said a judge had rejected an earlier attempt by the family to appeal the sentence.[2]After parliament passed reforms to scrap the mandatory death penalty, prisoners facing death or life imprisonment including those who had exhausted appeals could seek a sentencing review.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The 2023 report gives the amount as 851 grammes and the sentence as 23 years ago, differing from the contemporary 858-gramme and 2007 account used here.
The reports do not say what became of the case between the 2007 sentence and the 2023 reforms beyond an earlier rejected attempt at appeal.
No photograph of the event with a recoverable direct image address was found in the opened sources.
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.