Nigerian student jailed 14 years, 10 whipping for drug possession

A Nigerian studying at a private college in the country was sentenced to 14 years' jail and 10 strokes of the cane by the High Court here today for drug possession. Judge Datuk Nurchaya Arshad handed down the sentence on Orjiakor Chinonso Pascal, 30, after he pleaded guilty to possession of 9.62kg of cannabis in January last year. She ordered Pascal to serve the jail sentence from the date of arrest on Jan 11 last year. Pascal was charged with committing the offence with four others, countrymen Unegbu Goodluck Ejezi, 34, Ojuro Ugochukwu Samuel, 34, Okorie Sunday Innocent, 28, and Mmuoh Chima Basil, 20. They were alleged to have committed the offence at A-18-05, Impian Meridian, Jalan Subang 1, USJ 1, Subang Jaya near here about 2am on Jan 11 last year. However, Nurchaya ordered the four other accused to be discharged, but not amounting to an acquittal, and to be handed over to the Immigration authority for deportation. Pascal had initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of trafficking in the drug, and offence which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction. However, he changed his plea after the prosecution offered an alternative charge with possession. In mitigation, lawyer Leonard Anselm Gomes, representing Pascal, said his client was a first offender and studying at a private college in business administration. Deputy public prosecutor Zainal Azwar Kamaruddin prosecuted.