India sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking

The Penang High Court sentenced Habeeb Nashtar Abdul Mutalif, 51, who worked at a restaurant here, to death for trafficking in 12 kg of ketamine, also known as party drug.
It also jailed factory worker M Sathianarayanan, 44, for five years and fined him RM100,000 (Rs 15 lakh) for possessing 11 kg of ketamine.

Habeeb Nashtar was charged with committing the offence at the Special Passenger-Check Unit at the arrival hall of the Penang International Airport in March last year.
Judicial Commissioner Nurmala Salim, in her decision, said the defence had failed to raise a reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case.

"The accused did not know who would be receiving the goods (ketamine in his possession) when he arrived in Penang. He did not have any telephone number or the name of the person or coffee shop supposedly meant to receive the goods. He should have known," she said. She also dismissed the defence's contention that the accused was an innocent carrier, saying it could not be accepted.

In the same court, Sathianarayanan, who was charged with trafficking in 11kg of ketamine at the airport's arrival hall on March 10 last year, received the maximum jail sentence of five years. Sathianarayanan, who had initially been charged with drug trafficking, pleaded guilty when the alternative charge was read to him in Tamil in the case.