By Fadley Faisal –
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, OCT 14 – The High Court rejected the appeal of a 39-year-old Malaysian man who sought a reduced sentence for the offense of treason after disobeying the orders of customs officers and damaging the automatic gate guard at the Kuala Lurah Checkpoint.
On August 29, Norazman Sahat tried to avoid customs inspection by driving through the gate carrying 70kg of undeclared fruit.
He previously paid a fine for failing to comply with the instructions of customs officers under Section 143(b) of the Customs Order 2006.
However, he appealed against the four-month prison sentence and two lashes imposed for treason under Section 427 of the Criminal Penal Code Act.
During the appeal, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Fitri Kiprawi argued that the sentence handed down by the Magistrate’s Court was not excessive given the circumstances of the case.
In rejecting the appeal, Chief Justice Dato Seri Paduka Steven Chong emphasized that Norazman’s deliberate attempt to evade customs inspection and cause damage warrants a severe punishment.
