Court Postpones Trial of Korean Student's Drug Trafficking Case

SEREMBAN (Negeri Sembilan), Sept 30 (Bernama) -- The Seremban High Court Friday postponed the trial of a South Korean student who was charged with trafficking in 219 gm of cannabis to Oct 4. Judge Abu Bakar Jais said the postponement was aimed at giving more time to the prosecution to review the case. “I suggest the prosecution review this case and then make a decision whether or not to proceed with it. “By taking into account the fact that one of the prosecution witnesses had admitted to lying, I feel it is better for the prosecution to review the case,” the judge said. Kim Yun Soung, 20, a student at a private college in Nilai, was charged with committing the offence at his house in Nilai at about 12.30 am on Oct 19, last year. The charge under Section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, carries a mandatory death penalty upon conviction. Earlier, the counsel representing the accused, Gobind Singh Deo urged the court to act against one of the prosecution’s major witnesses for contempt of court for giving false evidence. He said in previous proceeding, he had on numerous occasions asked the prosecution witness on the evidence he gave especially on the closed circuit television (CCTV) footage obtained at the location the suspect was detained. But, the witness denied the matter until he was showed the CCTV footage concerned. Deputy public prosecutor Rahimah Abd Majid, in her argument, said that the main witness of the case who gave a contradictory statement during the trial of the case Thursday, had not been cross-examined. “The witness has not been given the opportunity to clarify his statement,” she said. Kim appeared calm during the proceeding Friday. Also present at the court were his grandparents and representatives of the South Korean Embassy. -- BERNAMA