Drug trial of French man, 2 M'sians hits setback after cannabis not produced
ALOR STAR: The trial of a French national and two Malaysians hit a minor setback after authorities failed to present 1.9kg of cannabis as evidence.
The directive came after a police storekeeper from the Langkawi district police headquarters failed to produce the seized drugs.
Judge Evawani Farisyta Mohammad instructed the witness to return tomorrow to resume his testimony.
"Just bring everything." Evawani told the witness.
The trial, scheduled to span four days, will continue at 2pm, with four prosecution witnesses expected to testify.
Proceedings are being conducted with the assistance of a French interpreter.
The accused — French national Tom Félix, Muhammad Rusydan Danyal Hussain, 34, and Nor Puteri Farrah Awang, 32 — are jointly facing seven charges under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Initially charged at the Langkawi Magistrates' Court in 2023, the case was later transferred to the Alor Setar High Court.
All three pleaded not guilty when the case was brought up for mention in June last year.
They face three charges under Section 39B of the Act for drug trafficking, which carries the death penalty or, at the court's discretion, life imprisonment along with a minimum of 15 strokes of the cane.
In addition, Tom faces a separate charge under Section 6 of the same Act.
According to the charge sheets, the trio allegedly trafficked three separate quantities of cannabis — 384.8 grammes, 377.7 grammes, and 983.6 grammes — as stated in the first three counts.
They also face one charge for possession of 68.2 grammes of cannabis, along with three further charges for possession of 46.5 grammes of the same substance.
Tom also faces a charge for possession of an additional 11.7 grammes of the drug.
The arrests were made during a raid at 5.40pm on Aug 9 last year at a house along Jalan Batu Asah in Kuah, Langkawi.
During the operation, Rusydan and Farrah were found in the upstairs living area, while Tom was discovered lying on a mattress in a second-floor bedroom.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Rizal Fadzil is leading the prosecution.
Rusydan is represented by Kumar & Co., Farrah by M. Thanakumaran & Shan, and Tom by lawyer Collin Andrews.
Tom's parents, Sylvie and Jean-Luc Félix — both schoolteachers — were present in court, along with the families of the two Malaysian accused.
The trio, dressed in white shirts and in handcuffs, appeared solemn in the dock.
Tom, in particular, looked visibly frail and is said to have lost a significant amount of weight since his arrest.
As the proceedings concluded, Tom was briefly reunited with his parents, who appeared emotional.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: E-waste land
MALAYSIA doesn't want to be an e-waste garbage bin for the world, but it just can't help being one. Year after year, an estimated one thousand containers make it past our seaports. Some through our porous land and maritime borders. The Customs Department tells us that importers — or are they smugglers? — are bringing in the containers by falsely declaring them to contain anything but e-waste. Some containers don't make it through the inspection of the department, but many do. How many is anyone's guess. The hundreds of illegal e-waste factories throughout the country give a picture of the number of containers that made it undetected. Some are hidden in plantations; others operate openly, in plain sight, visible to the eyes of the authorities. The most recent raids from June 16 to June 19 by 12 agencies on 57 premises in a nationwide crackdown show how bad a crisis the illegal e-waste smuggling is. The police, which led the raids in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Inland Revenue Board, estimated the seizures and revenue loss to the government to be RM1.003 billion. The 57 raided premises were almost a national affair, with 16 in Selangor, 12 in Sabah, six each in Kedah and Sarawak, five each in Perak and Johor, four in Penang, two in Kelantan and one in Terengganu. The raids also yielded 453 arrests, with only 41 Malaysians being nabbed. The rest were from the usual suspects: China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Nepal. From Jan 1 last year to June 19, the police arrested 1,061 people. This should frighten the nation into action before the crisis becomes a catastrophe. But the authorities appear to be facing, not insurmountable, but surmountable hurdles. One such revealed itself when the crackdown was launched. Although police intelligence revealed that more than 57 premises were operating illegally, many were found closed on the day of the raids. This, according to Federal Internal Security and Public Order Department director Datuk Seri Azmi Abu Kassim, raises concerns as to whether some operators may have been tipped off, the New Straits Times quoted him as saying. Enemies within aren't new threats for enforcement units. But which of the 12 agencies leaked it would be something for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to uncover. Punishment not matching the crime is another hurdle. Consider the Customs Act 1967. Anyone making false declarations can be fined up to RM500,000 or imprisoned for up to seven years, or both. A fine of RM500,000 is just a trifling sum for smugglers. Be that as it may, how many "importers" have been slapped with a RM500,000 fine or a seven-year imprisonment? As unheard of as hen's teeth. The Customs Department must do better by convincing the court to impose the maximum of punishment because illegal e-waste smuggling is a national crisis. While the government must provide the enforcers and regulators with the necessary resources to do a good job, they, too, have to go on an internal journey to weed out corrupt officers. Robust enforcement is not possible any other way. Absent this, containers of illegal e-waste will keep arriving on our shores, turning the crisis into a meltdown.
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
France arrests five over cryptocurrency kidnapping
LYON: French authorities have arrested five people on charges of kidnapping the father of an influencer and cryptocurrency entrepreneur, prosecutors said on Saturday. In recent months, France has seen several kidnappings and attempted abductions targeting cryptocurrency businesspeople and their families, and authorities have been under intense pressure to act. On Dec 31, 2024, five armed individuals attacked a man and a woman in their home in the eastern town of Saint-Genis-Pouilly near the Swiss border. In exchange for their release, the attackers demanded a ransom from their son, an influencer living in Dubai, prosecutors said at the time. When they did not receive the ransom, they abducted the father, who was found a few hours later in the boot of a car in the department of Sarthe, nearly 700 kilometres (435 miles) away. The 56-year-old man had been "assaulted, doused with petrol and transported in the boot of a car", prosecutor Karine Malara said in a statement. His wife was found tied up at her home in Saint-Genis-Pouilly. Five individuals were arrested on Tuesday as part of a criminal investigation. They were taken into custody on Friday on charges including kidnapping, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, Malara said. The suspects are four adults aged 18 to 22 and a 17-year-old minor. Prosecutors have not released the name of the cryptocurrency entrepreneur, stating only that his "success was well known to the general public". Three of the adults in pre-trial detention have extensive criminal records, including for violence, theft, drug and currency trafficking, and possession of weapons. The minor has a record for aggravated theft. In May, 25 people — including six minors — were charged in connection with several kidnappings and attempted abductions of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and their family members. The most high-profile incident under investigation is that of a kidnapping attempt targeting the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, the chief executive officer of crypto firm Paymium. The abduction attempt was carried out in broad daylight in Paris in May. In June, five men were arrested in northern France, suspected of planning the kidnapping of a young man and his mother. They allegedly intended to cut off one of the woman's fingers to obtain a ransom from the son, who owned cryptocurrencies. Malara said that no link had so far been established between this week's arrests and the other kidnapping cases.
New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Miri armed robbery gang nabbed within 24 hours
KUALA LUMPUR: Police arrested a group of armed robbers in less than 24 hours after a robbery at a house in Taman Viana, Jalan Bakam, Buletin TV3 reported. Miri district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said a team was immediately dispatched to the double-storey semi-detached house after receiving an emergency call via the 999 hotline. "However, by the time police arrived, the group had fled. "Based on public information and intelligence, we identified and arrested four suspects in less than 24 hours," he said in a statement today. The four suspects, arrested earlier today, include one Malaysian man and three foreign men, aged between 38 and 57. During the raid, police also seized various items believed to have been used in the crime, including a knife, a cutter, a mask, and the vehicle used by the group. They also confiscated jewellery, watches, identity documents, purses, and cash believed to belong to the victims. Farhan said the syndicate is believed to be involved in a string of armed robberies around Miri between 2024 and 2025. "All suspects have been remanded for seven days from June 20 to 27 to assist with further investigations," he said. He also reminded the public to stay vigilant and enhance the security of their homes by installing fences, grills, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, and alarm systems.
