A South Korean student, once in line for an automatic death sentence for drug trafficking, has seen a reversal in fortunes after he was acquitted today. The ruling occurred after the suspect’s defense team was able to prove that the police officer had lied several times while under oath.
Kim Yun Soung was subsequently freed by Seremban Judge Abu Bakar Jais, after being held in remand for nearly a year.
Kim had been charged with trafficking 219 grams of cannabis from an apartment in Bandar Baru NIlai, an hour outside of Kuala Lumpur, last October 19.
Earlier, the prosecution had asked Judge Abu Bakar for a discharge, making the case a contender for re-opening at a later date.
However, Kim’s attorney, Gobind Singh Deo, successfully argued that after a year in lock-up, his client should not have the charge looming over his head.
Deo had proved that the police officer who led the raid was no longer a credible witness, after having been caught red-handed in contempt of court lying about who was present at the time of the arrest. When challenged with a potential charge after CCTV footage contradicted his version of events, the inspector buckled under pressure and admitted to lying.
Video clearly showed that another individual had been handcuffed — though never arrested — despite the fact that throughout the trial, the police officer had maintained only Kim had been handcuffed.
Lessons learned all-round! Don’t sell drugs out of your apartment, and also, don’t lie under oath.
