22 November 2023 :

A former mechanic and a former cosmetician, convicted of two counts of trafficking drugs, had their death sentences commuted to 30 years in prison on November 22, 2023 by the Court of Appeal.
Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail, chairing the three-member bench alongside Azman Abdullah and Azmi Ariffin, reduced the sentence after dismissing the appeals by Lim Teck Hock and Lee Sheue Ning against their convictions.
She said the drugs were indeed found in the bedroom occupied by the two appellants and that their version that the drugs belonged to two other persons was unreasonable.
However, Hadhariah said the court used its discretion under the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 to commute the couple’s death sentence to 30 years jail for each charge, which would start from Nov 1, 2018, the date of arrest.
She also ordered Lim and Lee to serve the sentences concurrently. Lim was spared the rotan because he is over 50 years old.
Lim, 63 and Lee, 31, were sentenced to death by the Penang High Court on Sept 27, 2022, for trafficking 77.9g of heroin and monoacetylmorphines, and 1.5kg of methamphetamine in an apartment in Persiaran Bayan Indah, Bayan Lepas, Penang, at 3.20am on Nov 1, 2018.
Lawyers P Latsmanan and Hussaini Abdul Rashid, representing Lim and Lee respectively, submitted that the drugs belonged to two other individuals who were also arrested by police for drug offences.
Latsmanan said the two individuals were staying at the rented apartment a few days before the couple moved in. He said the couple were not husband and wife but were living together.
Deputy public prosecutor Fuad Abdul Aziz submitted the drugs belonged to Lim and Lee because they were found in the master bedroom which was occupied by the couple.