Penang painter Chuah Kok Eng sentenced to death over 271.9 g of cannabis
The Penang High Court sentenced former painter Chuah Kok Eng, 47, to death for trafficking 271.9 g of cannabis at a house in Jalan Jelutong on 3 November 2001. The judge held the defence had failed to raise a reasonable doubt and rejected his wife's evidence over contradictions; Chuah shook his head in disbelief as the sentence was translated.
The Penang High Court sentenced former painter Chuah Kok Eng, 47, to death for
trafficking271.9 grams of cannabis.[1][2]He was convicted at the end of the
defence case over an offence committed at a house in Jalan Jelutong at
12.45am on 3 November 2001.[1][2]
Justice Abdul Rahim Uda held the defence had failed to raise a reasonable
doubt, and the court rejected the evidence of Chuah’s wife, Ong Lean Ean, over
material contradictions in her testimony.[1][2]Chuah shook his head as the
interpreter explained the death sentence, then put his hand around his neck to
convey the hanging to his wife in the public gallery before being led away.[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.