GEORGE TOWN- A coffee shop worker heaved a sigh of relief when the High Court here today acquitted and discharged him of drug trafficking charges four years ago.
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Judge Datuk Azmi Abdullah ordered the release of Lim Kok Pin, 49, after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against him.
Azmi, in his ruling, said the accused was at a different place and time and not anywhere near, or in control, of the drugs.
“The accused was detained at a different time, was not anywhere near the drugs, and was not in control of it. The accused, when brought by the police to the house in Solok Tembaga where the drugs were found, also did not have with him the keys to the property,” he said.
Azmi said none of Lim’s personal belongings were in the house, while his DNA could not be traced as well.
Azmi also said that the prosecution had also failed to call in the actual owner of the house to testify in the case, and based on the prosecution’s third witness’ testimony, the accused and the house owner did not know each other at all.
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According to the first charge, Lim and another accused who has since died, were accused of jointly distributing heroin and monoacetylmorphines weighing 2,267 grammes at No 1-27-B, Solok Tembaga, Taman Tembaga here at 4.20pm on Feb 5, 2015.
For the second charge, the two were accused of distributing 1,485.3 grammes of metahmphetamine at the same date, time and place.
Lim, who also works as a cleaner, was charged under Section 39B(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death sentence.
The second accused, Teoh Ewe Chooi, died from cancer while in remand at the Penang Prison.
Lim was represented by Hussaini Abdul Rashid.- BERNAMA