MALAYSIA: THAI WOMAN TO HANG FOR TRAFFICKING IN COCAINE

February 10, 2012: In Malaysia, a Thai woman was sentenced to the gallows by the High Court after she was guilty of trafficking in 765.9 grammes of cocaine by swallowing the prohibited substance in pellet form, two years ago.
Judge Noor Azian Shaari in handing down the sentence on Raveeploy Sangkam, 28, from Bangkok, said she had failed to raise reasonable doubts in the prosecution's case.
The single mother of three was charged with committing the capital offence between Nov 5 2010 and Nov 8 2010.
The accused was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang after arrival on a flight form Buenos Aires while on transit to Bangkok.
In her defence, the accused had told the court that she had been promised USD5,000 by her Argentinian boyfriend to bring the drugs to Bangkok with payment to be made once she was in the Thai capital.
She further told the court that she had ingested the pellets seven hours before her flight (from Buenos Aires).
Noor Azian in handing down the punishment said there was only one sentence for drug trafficking in the country, which was the death sentence.
Deputy public prosecutor Suzana Abdul Latiff prosecuted while the accused was represented by counsel Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali. (Source: Bernama, 10/02/2012)