SEREMBAN, Aug 18 — Two friends were sentenced to 30 years in jail and 12 strokes of rotan each by the High Court here today for trafficking 768.9 grammes of methamphetamine, five years ago.

Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah meted out the sentence on Muhammad Zarif Mohd Noor Ajala, 46, and Mohd Najmi Abd Rahim, 39, after finding them guilty of the offence at the end of the defence case.

They were jointly charged with trafficking methamphetamine at a fast food restaurant at Persiaran Pusat Bandar, Nilai, at 3.45pm on September 18, 2018.

The offence was framed under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and can be punished under Section 39B (2) of the same law, and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

Meanwhile, the court also sentenced Mohd Najmi to two years imprisonment and three strokes of rotan after he was found guilty of possessing 13.11 grammes of methamphetamine at the same place, time, and date.

The court ordered both accused to serve the jail sentence from the date of arrest on September 18, 2018, while the whipping was put on hold pending their appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Before sentencing, Judge Azman said the two accused should be grateful as there was an amendment last month allowing the court to impose the optional sentence rather than the death penalty for drugs trafficking.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Husni Fairos Ramly prosecuted while lawyers Wan Shahrizal Wan Ladin and R. Palaya represented Muhammad Zarif and Mohd Najmi, respectively. — Bernama