KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian high court has sentenced a Nigerian citizen to death for drugs trafficking.
Ekene Collins Isaac, 37, was found guilty of smuggling 915.6g of methamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy or MDMA, into Malaysia three years ago.
High court judge Datuk Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim said the prosecution had proven Isaac’s guilt beyond doubt as she passed down the death sentence.
The case against Isaac was formidable. He was caught with the drugs concealed inside his body at Serdang Hospital in Kajang, Malaysia, after he was detained by local police.
The condemned is believed to have swallowed the drugs in Nigeria, where he worked as a cleaner, before flying out to the south-east Asia country.
During his trial, Isaac was only able to produce one witness to support his case, however the prosecution was able to present 13 witness who all testified to Isaac’s guilt.
He showed no emotion as Judge Ibrahim passed down the sentence.
Under Malaysia’s harsh anti-drug laws, trafficking drugs is an offence punishable with death by hanging.
Isaac’s case is not the first time a Nigerian has been sent to the gallows by a Malaysian court.
On December 17, farmer Echefula Obasi was sentenced to die two years after being found with 2kg of MDMA in a car park in the city of Shah Alam.
Also, in May, a court in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur sentenced 30-year-old student Mary George Unazi to death for smuggling just over 700g of MDMA in her luggage after flying into the country four years ago.
The condemned have the right to appeal against their verdicts and the governor of the state they were sentenced in has the power to commute the death sentence.
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