A South Korean student who was charged with drug trafficking in Malaysia was recently acquitted after the police officer who testified against him eventually admitted to lying in his testimony.
Kim Yun Soung, 20, who had been remanded for almost a year, was immediately released by the High Court in Seremban after the prosecution decided not to pursue the case.
Kim’s 67-year-old grandmother became emotional after finding out that her grandson would be acquitted and released, World of Buzz reported.
The family will return to South Korea to renew Kim’s student visa, so he can go back to Malaysia and finish his schooling.
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“After taking into account submissions by both parties, I hereby acquit and discharge the accused,” Judge Abu Bakar Jais was quoted saying.
The 20-year-old student was charged with allegedly trafficking 219 grams (7.7 ounces) of cannabis at an apartment in Bandar Baru Nilai in Negri Sembilan in October 2016.
According to The Star Online, that amount of marijuana carries the mandatory death penalty sentence if convicted.
The inspector’s admission of lying in court last week came after the defense team revealed the existence of video footage that would be used as evidence to refute his testimony involving the raid on Kim’s apartment.
After the officer admitted to perjury, deputy public prosecutor Rahimah Abd Majid initially sought to have Kim given a discharge, but not an acquittal. Such a decision would have allowed them to reopen his case later on.
However, Kim’s Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo pushed for a full acquittal, stating that the student had already been held in remand for nearly a year, reports Malay Mail Online.
In his earlier argument in court, Gobind pointed out that the police officer was no longer a credible witness.
“He brazenly lied. It was only after we challenged and told him that we would initiate contempt proceedings against him as we had evidence he was lying, did he admit to it,” said Gobind.
