The Putrajaya Higher Court freed two Indonesian workers, Azhar bin Zakaria and Ismail bin Ibrahim, who had been sentenced to death for drug possession.[1][2] Malaysian police had caught the pair in May 2012 after finding 20 kilograms of cannabis in the boot of a car they used.[1][2] An earlier trial at the Malaysian High Court had sentenced both men to death.[1][2]

On appeal, the defence argued that police and prosecution accounts of the arrest differed, and that the prosecutor had failed to produce the physical evidence in the case, namely the car used at the time of the arrest.[1][2] Accepting the lawyer’s argument, the Higher Court judge ruled that the case against Azhar and Ibrahim could not proceed for lack of evidence.[1][2]

The Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur began repatriating both workers after the ruling.[1][2] The embassy said 167 Indonesians previously facing the death sentence in Malaysia had been freed, while 181 others were still awaiting legal proceedings.[1][2]