The South Sumatra High Court in Palembang imposed the death penalty on Kiagus Zainal Abidin, raising the 18-year prison term the Palembang District Court gave him that September for possessing 58.7 kilograms of marijuana.[1][2] A four-judge panel presided over by Judge Harifin Tumpa decided the sentence on 3 December 2001 after Kiagus appealed, court clerk Hairul Sutrisno told The Jakarta Post.[1][2]
Kiagus, 36, and Aldo bin Hasan Umar, 32, both Palembang residents, had been arrested on 25 December 2000 by local police acting on a tip from neighbours.[1] The judges found both men guilty of possessing, trafficking and selling the drug; Aldo was sentenced to 20 years that September, did not appeal, and was serving his term at Palembang Penitentiary.[1]
Harifin said the death sentence reflected the severity of the crime and was meant as a lesson to other would-be traffickers.[1][2] Lawyer Saiman said his client was shocked and would appeal to the Supreme Court, while Sriwijaya University criminal law expert Herly Salia backed the decision as an effort against the province’s marijuana trade.[1] It was the first narcotics case in the province in which a person found guilty of possessing marijuana received the death penalty.[1][2]
