GEORGE TOWN: A fisherman was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and 10 strokes of the rotan by the High Court here after he pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of drug possession.

Judicial Commissioner Azmi Abdullah ordered that the jail term for Wan Muhammad Zamir Wan Rahim, 39, be served from Nov 21, 2014, his date of arrest.

He also acquitted and discharged five other people, who along with Wan Muhammad Zamir, were jointly charged with trafficking in 26.22g of heroin and monoacetylmorphines on Nov 21, 2014 at about 12.30pm at an apartment in Jalan Sungai Pinang.

They were Azlan Ismail, 39, Nurul Nisa Kamaruzzaman, 20, Ferdaus Abdullah, 40, Mohd Khairul Anuar Hashim, 35, and Muhammad Hanis Syed Jalalludin, 25.

The six friends nodded when the charge was read out yesterday under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under Section 39B(2).

Wan Muhammad Zamir, who was offered an alternative charge, then pleaded guilty to posses-sing the 26.22g of heroin and monoacetylmorphines at the same time and place.

According to the facts of the case, the police had raided the apartment and arrested the six accused who were there.

Representing the first accused was counsel K. Thangesvaran, who mitigated that his client is sincere in his plea as he admitted to the offence the instance the alternate charge was offered.

DPP Lim Cheah Yit prosecuted.

Lawyers representing the remaining five were S. Yagoo, Tan Guat Cheng, Anthony Chew and Hussaini Abdul Rashid who acted for Ferdaus and Mohd Khairul.-thestar