Two Thai nationals sentenced to death for 18.75 kg of cannabis
The High Court sentenced Thai nationals Sureeya Wuttisat, 45, and Asan Tong, 47, to death on 22 April 2009 for trafficking 18.75 kilograms of cannabis after their April 2004 detention at a Pahang petrol station.
Malaysia’s High Court on Wednesday 22 April 2009 sentenced two Thai nationals to death by hanging for trafficking almost 20 kilograms of cannabis five years earlier.[1]Sureeya Wuttisat, 45, and Asan Tong, 47, both from Thailand’s southern province of Narathiwat, were detained in April 2004 at a petrol station in the central state of Pahang.[1]
The two were caught with 18.75 kilograms of cannabis, believed to have been brought in from Thailand for local distribution.[1]A second account put the amount at about 40 pounds of marijuana.[2]Malaysia’s drug laws prescribe a mandatory death sentence by hanging for those found guilty of smuggling most types of drugs.[1]
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.