Sibu court gives Tiong Soon Hieng life and 12 strokes for 5.08 kg of cannabis
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.
🇲🇾 Sibu High Court (offence in Bintangor, Sarawak) · Malaysia
On Monday 19 October 2026 Judge Wong Siong Tung of the Sibu High Court sentenced Tiong Soon Hieng,
41, to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane for trafficking5,081.06 grams of cannabis.[1][2]The judge said the death penalty was not necessary and ordered the prison term to run from Tiong’s
arrest on 6 January 2023.[1][2]
The charge under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39B(2),
said he trafficked the cannabis at about 10.05am on that date in front of a coffee shop on Jalan
Dermaga in Bintangor.[1][2]
Deputy public prosecutor Mark Kenneth Netto, appearing for Royal Malaysian Customs, urged a
proportionate sentence in the public interest.[1][2]Defence lawyer Francis Wee said Tiong’s wife
had left during the trial and that his mother was caring for their children; he asked for a lighter
term given time already spent on remand.[1][2]Tiong expressed remorse.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
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.
Malaysia's Federal Court upheld life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane for lorry driver M. Mugunthan, caught with 845 g of cannabis in Shah Alam in 2018. The bench found his knowledge of the drugs proven.
Charged 1Cannabis 845 gPrison life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane