Malaysia shocked the world when in July 1986 it hanged...

Malaysia shocked the world when in July 1986 it hanged two Australian citizens for trafficking in heroin. There are 143,000 drugs addicts in Malaysia. To deal with the drug problem, the Government has formulated a national Drug Policy with the main objective of eliminating the demand for and supply of illegal drugs. As an emergency measure it has passed the Dangerous Drugs Act that places the burden of proof upon the defendant who must prove his/her innocence (guilty until proved innocent), breaching a fundamental principle of both Malaysian jurisprudence and international legal safeguards. In March 1998, all Malaysian schools were given urine-testing equipment and permission to conduct random drug testing on students. The charge under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act carries the death sentence or life imprisonment upon conviction.