PUTRAJAYA, Sept 13 — A former maintenance staff at an army air base in Sungai Petani, Kedah, escaped the hangman’s noose today after his drug trafficking charge was reduced to possession.

Abdul Salam Zainal Abidin was sentenced to 10 years and six months and was also ordered to be given 10 strokes of the cane after he pleaded guilty to the drug possession charge before the Court of Appeal panel of judges.

However, Abdul Salam would receive a total of 15 strokes of the cane as his conviction and sentence of four years imprisonment and five strokes of the cane for another drug possession charge was upheld after he withdrew his appeal.

The 46-year-old man was ordered to serve the jail sentences concurrently from the date of his arrest, which was June 16, 2015.

The panel of judges comprising Justices Datuk Hanipah Farikullah, Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali and Datuk Azmi Ariffin set aside Abdul Salam’s conviction and death sentence for the drug trafficking charge and substituted the charge to possession.

Earlier, Abdul Salam’s lawyer, Amer Hamzah Arshad, told the court that his client’s representation seeking the drug trafficking charge to be reduced to possession was accepted by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC). Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Khushairy Ibrahim confirmed the matter.

Amer Hamzah also told the court that his client was withdrawing his appeal against the High Court’s decision which convicted him of a charge of possessing cannabis.

The High Court had imposed a custodial sentence and whipping on Abdul Salam.

Abdul Salam was sentenced to death by the High Court on September 18, 2019, for trafficking in 517 grammes of cannabis at a house in Taman Sri Tanjung, Sg Layar in Sungai Petani, Kedah, at 9.50pm on June 16, 2015.

The Alor Setar High Court also found him guilty of possessing 23.04 grammes of cannabis and sentenced him to four years in jail and five strokes of the cane for the offence, which was committed at level one of the Kemudik building in Bandar Amanjaya in Sungai Petani, Kedah, at 8pm on June 16, 2015. — Bernama