A Nigerian national who claimed he swallowed capsules containing “precious stones” escaped the gallows today, for drug trafficking but was jailed and ordered to be whipped for possession of drugs.
A Court of Appeal three-man panel led by Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat sentenced Abuchi Ngwoke, 31, to 20 years jail and 10 strokes of whipping after convicting him for possession of 251.66 grammes of methamphetamine.
The court unanimously allowed Ngwoke’s appeal to set aside a Melaka High Court’s decision to convict and sentence him to death for trafficking drugs in 2012.
In his defence, Ngwoke claimed the swallowed “precious stones” which were wrapped, with soup after a man named Chibike told him that it contained precious stone gold dust which was used in jewellery-making in Malaysia. 27 capsules containing methamphetamine were removed from his stomach at a Malaysian hospital that year.
