FT Acquitted for Drug Smuggling

SINGAPORE: A Nigerian man facing the death penalty for drug trafficking along with a Singaporean woman was acquitted on Wednesday (Nov 5). A High Court judge found the woman guilty.

Ilechukwu Uchechuku Chukwudi, 29, and Hamidah Awang, 49, had been charged in connection with the smuggling of nearly 2kg of 'Ice' across Woodlands Checkpoint on Nov 13, 2011. The drugs were found in the boot of Hamidah's car.

Justice Lee Seiu Kin found Hamidah's account "inconsistent" with the evidence. She had claimed she had trusted her lover - a man named Goodman - who instructed her to bring a luggage bag out of Singapore, and said she had no prior knowledge that it contained drugs.

The judge noted that she had reservations about the bag, stating to authorities that her lover had offered her RM1,000 (about S$400) as payment to bring the bag with her. Hamidah had also seen the bag cut up and two packets of powdery substances taken from it and did not express surprise or shock.

In addition, she had said to the interrogating officer: "I don't want to say anything, but just to say I am guilty. I am begging not to receive the death penalty because of my children." She later claimed the interpreter had translated her statement inaccurately.

The judge said he was satisfied of her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

However, Justice Lee found that Ilechuwu's account was generally corroborated by evidence. The Nigerian had been arrested a day after Hamidah was detained. He had passed the bag to Hamidah at a Chinatown budget hotel earlier, and said he did not know it contained drugs. He first left the bag in the lobby of the hotel, returning 12 minutes later to pick it up. Secondly, after handing the bag to Hamidah, he accepted her invitation to bring him out for some food.

Justice Lee said: "This is not consistent with a person who is carrying the bag for a drug syndicate as the consequences of the loss of the bag would be very severe for him."

- CNA/dl

I think this judge is a blur sotong.
You think any Tom dick and Harry can find drug syndicate connections to traffik drugs?
To based purely on the statements given is ridiculous.....CNB should have checked their background

Narong Wongwan said:

I think this judge is a blur sotong.
You think any Tom dick and Harry can find drug syndicate connections to traffik drugs?
To based purely on the statements given is ridiculous.....CNB should have checked their background

Click to expand...

well the background is nigerian,means what?

Yeah when smuggling drugs Singaporeans middle aged single women always want to partner with Africans just for kicks!

Dumb Judge history will repeat itself again, making his purpose meaningful.

Singaporeans Lao CHar Bor can't resist the lure of the Death of an African TuaKee LJ!

Singapore judiciary really cannot make it these days. Yong Pung How would have hanged him. If it were a Sinkie, cane first then hang.


So much for a 法治社会 (society ruled by law).

Even a daft Sinkie with limited knowledge on law would still find it hard to trust the statement of this Nigerian nigger..

The judge kena Nigeria scam. :kma:

LEGEND said:

The judge kena Nigeria scam. :kma:

Click to expand...

kena 419 scam

[video=youtube;cG57mPMiJvw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG57mPMiJvw[/video]

frenchbriefs said:

well the background is nigerian,means what?

Click to expand...

Checking the background I mean past criminal history, associates etc.
Drug trafficker is not exactly a job you can find in the classifieds.
You need connections to get into the drug trade.....and i dun mean your low level users or pushers....you need to know people on both sides of the supply and demand chain.
These cross countries couriers are known as 'jockeys' in the drug trade.....at the very least you need to know a 'boss' who is willing to trust you with such a big chunk of drugs.

The hk movie 'protege' gave a almost true portrayal of what goes on in the industry.

Will those bleeding heart liberals speak against the death penalty on behalf of Hamidah who is one of our own? Evidently those hypocrites are closet xenophiles who cannot be trusted to look after our own people.

judge must be a nig lover,of all nationality, acquit nigerians

no doubt, will embolden nefarius FT,black AND white.

as long as black skin...........just hang..........just to be safe........

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=german-woman-in-singapore-drug-case-escapes-gallows-2002-03-29
German woman in Singapore drug case escapes gallows
HDN | 3/29/2002 12:00:00 AM |

A German woman accused of trafficking drugs in Singapore was spared the death sentence after charges against her were reduced in pretrial court proceedings on Thursday. The case of Julia Suzanne Bohl, 23, had brought this island nation's policy of

A German woman accused of trafficking drugs in Singapore was spared the death sentence after charges against her were reduced in pretrial court proceedings on Thursday.
The case of Julia Suzanne Bohl, 23, had brought this island nation's policy of hanging convicted drug dealers into the international spotlight.
Accused of belonging to a ring that supplied drugs to bars and nightclubs in Singapore, Bohl was initially charged with trafficking 687 grams (24.23 ounces) of marijuana, an amount for which the death sentence is mandatory. If convicted on that charge, she would have become only the second Westerner here to face execution for a drug-related crime.
But a court revised the charges against her and three alleged Singaporean accomplices on Thursday, saying that tests had revealed that a stash of drugs seized by police was not as pure as originally believed. All four now face minimum sentences of 10 years if convicted of three lesser trafficking charges.
Standing handcuffed before the judge, Bohl seemed calm as several pages of revised charges were read to her. She had cried during her previous two court appearances.
"We are very relieved and we thank all the people that have been hoping with us and still hope with us," her father, Wolfgang Bohl, told reporters afterward.
Germany, which prohibits execution under its constitution, had been expected to lobby strongly against a death penalty for the young woman.
Bail, which had previously been denied, was set Thursday at 150,000 Singapore dollars ($82,420) on condition that her passport be impounded upon release. Bohl's parents, who are divorced, did not say whether they planned to post bail.
Her lawyer Subhas Anandan said that he was "quite happy" with the court's decision. He said that he planned to contest all the charges against his client.
Trafficking more than 500 grams (17.64 ounces) of marijuana or 15 grams (0.5 ounces) of heroin carry a mandatory death sentence in Singapore.
Singapore has hanged at least 340 people -- most for drug offenses -- since 1975, when the death penalty became mandatory for drug traffickers and murderers. Authorities say that the city-state's low crime rate and stability are due to its tough attitude toward crime.