A former maintenance worker at an army camp in Sungai Petani, Kedah, escaped the gallows on 13 September 2023 after his drug trafficking charge was reduced to possession.[1][2]
Abdul Salam Zainal Abidin, 46, had been sentenced to death by the High Court in Alor Setar on 18 September 2019 for trafficking 517 grams of cannabis at a house in Taman Sri Tanjung, Sungai Petani, at about 9.50pm on 16 June 2015.[1][2] His counsel’s representations to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for a reduced charge were accepted by the prosecution.[2]
A three-member Court of Appeal bench led by Justice Hanipah Farikullah set aside the conviction and death sentence, substituted a possession charge, and sentenced him to 10 years and six months in prison with 10 strokes of the rotan after he pleaded guilty.[1][2] The defence had asked for eight to 10 years, which with usual remission would have freed him at once, while the prosecution sought 10 to 13 years; the bench fixed 10 years and six months so that the whipping could still be administered.[2] The jail term runs from the date of his arrest, 16 June 2015.[1][2]
His conviction and sentence of four years’ jail and five strokes for another drug possession charge was upheld after he withdrew that appeal, so he faces 15 strokes in all.[1]