Federal Court reinstates death sentence over 3.69 kg cannabis sale
Malaysia's Federal Court on 30 January 2007 unanimously reinstated the death sentence on Saari Jusoh for selling 3,686 grams of cannabis in Johor Bahru in 1991, reversing a 2006 appeal ruling that had reduced the case to possession.
Malaysia’s Federal Court on 30 January 2007 unanimously reinstated the death sentence imposed on former construction worker Saari Jusoh for selling 3,686 grams of cannabis.[1]Saari and Mohd Saufi Jusoh had been jointly charged withtrafficking the drug at Jalan Tun Abdul Razak in Johor Bahru on 8 September 1991; the High Court sentenced Saari to death on 11 December 1995 and acquitted Saufi.[2][1]In August 2006 the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction, ruling no sale had occurred because police sprang their trap before money changed hands, and ordered 20 years’ jail and 12 strokes for possession instead.[2]
Five Federal Court judges allowed the prosecution’s appeal, holding that a sale is complete upon transfer of the drug even if the price has not been paid, and restored the High Court’s death sentence.[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.