Nigerian student sentenced to death over cannabis in Shah Alam
The Shah Alam High Court sentenced Nigerian student Prince Bartholomew Obitube, 28, to death on 26 February 2014 for trafficking cannabis found at an apartment in Gombak in 2011. The court imposed the mandatory death sentence under Malaysia's Dangerous Drugs Act.
The Shah Alam High Court sentenced 28-year-old Nigerian student Prince Bartholomew Obitube to death on 26 February 2014 after finding him guilty of trafficking cannabis.[1][2]Obitube, a student at a private college in Kuala Lumpur, received the mandatory death sentence under the Dangerous Drugs Act.[1][2]
Police from the Gombak Narcotic Crime Investigation Department arrested Obitube at Desa Satu Apartment in Gombak on 20 August 2011 after a tip-off, following a trial of about three years.[1][2]Officers said he tried to run away with a backpack containing the drugs when they moved in on the apartment area.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Charged
1
Prison
death by hanging
Agency type
Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis
Activity
Trafficking
Setting
Home
Case stage
Sentenced
Sentence
Death sentence
Sources
YNaijaynaija.comDrug trafficking: Nigerian student sentenced to death in Malaysia (PICTURED)
Both outlets report the amount as 9,189kg of cannabis in an apartment backpack, which is implausible as kilograms and likely means grams; no weight is recorded rather than guess.
The trial lasted about three years after the 20 August 2011 arrest, but no appeal or execution outcome was reported in the opened sources.
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.