A High Court in Malaysia handed down a six and a half-year prison sentence to a Nigerian man and woman for possession of drugs.
Kebechi Thomas Nwankwu, 38, and Happy Akhidenor Aituaje, 33, pleaded guilty to possessing 580.98 grams of cannabis, an offense committed in Melaka city on March 24, 2022, at around 5:30 am.
They were charged under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries a punishment of life imprisonment or a minimum of five years in prison along with a minimum of 10 strokes of the cane.
Despite appeals from their lawyer, Datin Kharen Jit Kaur, who cited their families in Nigeria, the court upheld the stringent penalty.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Asri Abd Rahman Sidik emphasized the need for a strict sentence to deter both Malaysians and foreigners from engaging in similar drug-related offenses.
