MALAYSIA: IRANIAN TO HANG FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING

February 11, 2011: Iranian carpet seller Hossein Nsiri Zahed, 50, was sentenced to hang by Justice Ghazali Cha of the Malaysian High Court for trafficking 7.5kg of methamphatamine by the roadside near Pantai Hill Park, Pantai Dalam on March 9, 2010.
Hossein had been jointly charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 with another Iranian, Omid Lashkari Mojtaba, 31, of trafficking the drugs.
Omid, however, was acquitted after the court found the prosecution had failed to prove he had the intention to traffic the drugs and found him to be an innocent carrier, while Hossein was ordered to enter his defence last month.
In his judgment, Justice Ghazali said Hossein’s defence that he did not know the contents of a red bag he was carrying was a bare denial. (Sources: The Star, 12/02/2011)