PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has upheld a the 30 year's jail and 12 strokes of the cane sentence imposed on a 39-year-old man for trafficking 43.2g of heroin and monoacetylmorphine in 2022.

A three-member panel comprising Justices Datuk Azman Abdullah, Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin unanimously dismissed the appeal by A. Lingeswaran, who sought to overturn both his conviction and sentence.

Delivering the court's decision, Justice Azman held that the conviction was safe and warranted affirmation by the appellate court.

He said that despite conflicting versions of events from the prosecution and defence, the court was satisfied that no further witnesses were required to corroborate the testimony of the arresting officer.

In July 2024, the High Court found Lingeswaran guilty of trafficking 40.1g of heroin and 3.1g of monoacetylmorphine at Jalan Kenari Biru 1, Taman Kenari Jaya, Sungai Petani, Kedah, at around 12.30am on Sept 7, 2022.

The court sentenced Lingeswaran to 30 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane, with the custodial sentence to take effect from the date of his arrest on Sept 7, 2022.

Prior to his arrest, Lingeswaran was employed as a runner for a workshop, where he assisted in road accident matters by liaising with the police, hospitals and handling insurance claims.

He retains the right to file a final appeal to the Federal Court.

Lingeswaran was represented by Datuk N. Sivananthan and Grace S. Nathan, while deputy public prosecutor Zander Lim Wai Keong appeared for the prosecution. – Bernama