MALAYSIA. INSURANCE EXECUTIVE SPARED HANGMAN'S NOOSE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING

the Malaysian Court of Appeal commuted the death sentence passed on Denish Madhavan, a 33-year-old insurance executive, for drug trafficking. The court instead sentenced Madhavan to 15 years' jail and ordered him to be whipped 10 times under Section 39(a)(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. Justice Datuk Mokhtar Sidin, who sat with Justices Datuk Hashim Mohd Yusoff and Mohd Noor Abdullah, unanimously allowed the appeal, quashing the conviction and death sentence imposed by the High Court on October 31, 2003.
Denish had been charged with trafficking in 3.121kg of cannabis in a room at a house in Jalan Sekoi in Bandar Uda, Johor Baharu, on September 17, 1999.