The Kota Kinabalu Court Complex

MALAYSIA: SYABU TRAFFICKER’S DEATH SENTENCE REPLACED WITH LIFE IMPRISONMENT

June 18, 2025:

A self-employed man, who received the capital punishment for trafficking in syabu, escaped the hangman’s noose after the Court of Appeal in Kota Kinabalu on June 17, 2025 substituted it with an imprisonment for life.
Justice Dato’ Hj Azman Abdullah, who sat together with Justices Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, unanimously quashed the death penalty imposed on Ang Eng Khong, 42, after allowing the appeal against his sentence.
Ang was sentenced to life imprisonment of 30 years from the date of his arrest on October 31, 2018 and 12 strokes of the cane.
On February 6, 2023, he was sentenced to death by hanging by a High Court in Kota Kinabalu for trafficking in 1,746.8 grams of syabu.
Ang was found guilty of a charge under Section 39B (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, punishable under Section 39B (2) of the same Act after a full trial.
The indictment provides for the death sentence or imprisonment for life and whipping, upon conviction.
Ang was convicted of trafficking in the syabu at Taman Awam Teluk Likas on Oct 31, 2018.
Earlier, counsel Hamid Ismail submitted among others that his client’s representation letter had been accepted by the prosecution.
Hamid explained that the representation was to substitute the death penalty to life imprisonment pursuant to the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty 2023.