KOTA KINABALU: A teacher facing a potential death sentence after she was caught with almost 1kg of drugs cried tears of relief when she was spared the hangman's noose.
Suhailah Abdullah, 42, a private teacher based in the peninsula, was sentenced to a 14-year jail term for possessing 959.5gm of syabu by Kota Kinabalu High Court judge Chew Soo Ho.
Suhailah's custodial sentence will take effect from May 27, 2013, the date of her arrest.
She was caught with the drugs at the arrival hall of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) terminal One at about 11.15am on May 27 last year.
Suhailah's initial charge of drug trafficking was amended to a charge of possession on Friday after the Court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case on the trafficking charge.
However, Chew held that the prosecution had proven a prima facie case on drug possession and ordered Suhailah to enter her defence on Monday.
Suhailah, however, pleaded guilty to the amended charge.
During mitigation, defence counsel Datuk Seri Rakhbir Singh applied for a lenient sentence and told the Court that Suhailah was a victim of her Nigerian boyfriend, who had taken advantage of her.
He also submitted that his client was a divorcee, had no children and showed remorse for her mistake.
