Friday, 7 October 2016
Salon owner charged with drug trafficking to know fate on Oct 26
GEORGE TOWN: An Indian national facing the death sentence for allegedly trafficking in drugs here will find out her fate on Oct 26.
Businesswoman Sangeeta Sharma Brahmacharimayum, 41, was charged in the Balik Pulau magistrate’s court on Oct 20, 2013, with trafficking in 1,637.1gm of methamphetamine at about 1am on Oct 7 at the domestic arrival area of the Penang International Airport.
The case was then transferred to the High Court for the charge to be heard. She was charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act with the mandatory death sentence.
According to the facts of the case, Sangeeta, a former sister-in-law of the Delhi Deputy Inspector-General of Police, was stopped to have her luggage checked with a scanner soon after landing at the airport.
After repacking her bag, Sangeeta, a beauty parlour owner, was escorted to the narcotics office at the airport where two brown plastic packets were found inside a hidden compartment in the bag. The packets were later confirmed to be methamphetamine.
Defence counsel S. Yagoo mitigated at the end of the defence case yesterday that CCTV recordings showed Sangeeta had opened her bag that was unlocked.
“She opened her luggage without using the combination numbers,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Noor Azrul Abd Rahman said in his submission the bag had “a tag with her name on it”.
“Her clothing was in the bag,” he added.
Nine prosecution witnesses were called while the accused appeared as the sole witness for the defence.
Sangeeta, who was wearing a green blouse with a black motif and black scarf, occasionally turned to look at the more than 10 people sitting in the public gallery during the hearing.
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Azmi Ariffin said he would deliver judgment on Oct 26.
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