Eight Men, Includign Six Foreigners, Charged With Possession Of Ketamine, MDMA

KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 (Bernama) -- Eight men pleaded not guilty at the Magistrate’s Court here today on charges of possessing ketamine and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) at a hotel last week.

The accused were locals Ivan Wong Yi Xian, 24, and Chong King Jun, 36, along with six foreigners, Jensen Soh Kah Yi, 34, Yeo Wei Seng, 37, Lam Hoi Leung, 30, Hendry Gunawan, 28, Tang Waei, 41, and Tran Quang Ha, 26.

According to the first charge, they were jointly accused of possessing 1.5 grammes of ketamine in a room at a prominent hotel in Brickfields at 4 am on May 24, while for the second charge, all the men were jointly found in possession of 0.7 grams of  MDMA at the same place, time and date.

Both charges are framed under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, and punishable under Section 12(3) of the same Act, which provides for a maximum fine of RM100,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both, upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Nurul Farhanah Arul Hisham offered bail of RM7,000 for the locals accused, while no bail was proposed for the foreign nationals.

Lawyer Roshvinder Singh from the National Legal Aid Foundation, representing Wong and Chong, appealed for lower bail on the grounds that they were single and worked only as a beauty shop employee and a salesperson.

Lawyer Yong Jei Beng, representing the six foreign accused, requested that the court allow bail on the grounds that they had come to the country merely as tourists.

Magistrate Nurul Izzah Hasan Basri allowed Wong and Chong bail of RM6,000 each with one surety, while the other six accused were denied bail and set Aug 27 for mention of the case.

-- BERNAMA