MALAYSIA: INDIAN NATIONAL GETS THE GALLOWS FOR TRAFFICKING

May 31, 2012: An Indian national was sentenced to the gallows by the High Court in Malaysia after he was found guilty of trafficking 15,559 grammes of ketamine at the KL International Airport(KLIA), Sepang, three years ago. Judge Datuk Abd Rahim Uda handed down the sentence to Baskar Venkatasamy, 51, a taxi driver, after finding the defence had failed to raise any reasonable doubts in the prosecution's case.
In his judgment, Abd Rahim said the defence's case rested on just one version, that the accused did not know anything about the existence of the drugs and that furthermore, the court had no reason to doubt evidence and testimony provided by the prosecution. "The court cannot accept the accused's defence which makes no sense and conflicts with what really happened. "As such, the court find the accused guilty and will have to face the death sentence," he said. Baskar was caught with the drugs at the arrival hall of KLIA at 1pm on Dec 29, 2009. The drugs were hidden in a box containing sarees, combs and two rice cookers. Deputy public prosecutor Naziah Mokhtar prosecuted while the accused was represented by Datuk Arunan Selvaraj. (Sources: Bernama, 31/05/2012)