An Indonesian carpenter escaped the gallows after the...

An Indonesian carpenter escaped the gallows after the Court of Appeal set aside the ganja trafficking conviction.
Abdul Rahman Akif, 44, was instead found guilty of the lesser offence of drug possession and sentenced to 18 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane. The maximum sentence for this offence, under Section 39A (2) of the Dangerous Drugs, is 20 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane.
A three-member panel headed by Justice Datuk Gopal Sri Ram ordered the jail sentence to take effect from May 1996 when Abdul Rahman was sent to prison following his arrest.
The other two panel members were Justices Datuk Mohamed Saari Yusoff and Datuk Alauddin Mohamed Sheriff.
The High Court had given him the mandatory death sentence after convicting him of trafficking in 4,826.9 kg of ganja in Jalan Kubur Bakar Batu, Johor Baharu at 3am on May 9, 1996.In setting aside the conviction and sentence, Justice Sri Ram said the prosecution had failed to explain what happened to Abdul Rahman from the time he was arrested (3am) to the time he was taken to the police lock-up (11.30am).
The judge said the appellate court also accepted that a statement by Abdul Rahman was recorded in oppressive circumstances and not given voluntarily.