Malaysian drug smuggling suspect pleads ‘not guilty,’ Bali prosecutor demands 10 years

Illustration. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Illustration. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The trial of Mohd Husaini Bin Jaslee, a Malaysian national accused of smuggling 1,887 ecstasy pills in his laptop case last September, continued at the Denpasar District Court yesterday.

The prosecutor demanded a 10-year prison sentence and IDR1.5 billion (US$105,223) fine while Jaslee insisted on a plea of ‘not guilty’ and asked that all of the charges against him be dropped.

“We request that the panel of judges find [the defendant] innocent and free from all charges of the Prosecutor,” said his lawyer, I Ketut Dody Arta Kariawan in front of the panel of judges, as quoted by Jawa Pos.

According to the police, Jaslee and a female friend, Nurasyqin Binti Ab Razak, arrived at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport on an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 3 of last year. Airport officials became suspicious when Jaslee failed to place his laptop bag on the X-ray machine belt alongside his other luggage. But when they told him to scan his hand luggage, he somehow managed to trick them by placing it at the side of the machine, and walking off empty handed.

Some time later, a passenger alerted security to the laptop bag lying next to the X-ray machine, which is when its contents— 1,887 pills weighing almost 590 grams—were discovered.

Jaslee was able to return to Malaysia after that but was intercepted on Sept. 9 when he and Razak returned to Indonesia through Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Police arrested Jaslee in connection with the ecstasy while Razak managed to avoid any charges.

During yesterday’s hearing, Jaslee’s lawyer read out a 31-page defense note, highlighting a number of considerations regarding the “not guilty” plea. Among them were the defendant’s potential for self improvement due to his young age, and the fact he’d never been convicted in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Jaslee outright denied possessing ecstasy, claiming that the drugs found in the laptop bag had been planted there by a friend who had invited him to Indonesia, though it’s unclear who this friend is. Further, he claimed to have travelled to Indonesia on business, though reportedly he could not elaborate.

The trial will continue next week.



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