Photo courtesy of John Bunyan

An Ipoh court has acquitted a 37-year-old wireman of a cannabis-cultivation charge after ruling that prosecutors had not established a prima facie case against him.

Aszizi Ayub was cleared by the Sessions Court at the close of the prosecution’s case, ending proceedings over an allegation linked to a cannabis plant found at a house in Ipoh three years ago.

Court finds case not established

Judge Meor Sulaiman Ahmad Tarmizi said the court had considered the prosecution evidence and the defence submissions before concluding that the case had not been proved to the required preliminary threshold.

The judge ordered Aszizi to be acquitted and discharged, bringing the prosecution to an end without requiring him to answer the charge.

Allegation dated from 2023

According to the charge, Aszizi was accused of allowing a cannabis plant weighing 253.4 grammes to be cultivated at a house in Taman Dato Leow Yan Sip, Ipoh, on 31 July 2023.

The allegation concerned a plant said to have been grown by another person in a black plastic bag at a property in Persiaran Wira Jaya Timur 36. The report said the accusation was brought under provisions of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 covering the planting or cultivation of specified plants.

Serious penalty attached

The offence carries a mandatory life sentence and a minimum of six strokes of the cane if a person is convicted. That made the court’s ruling on whether the prosecution had established a prima facie case especially significant for the accused.

Aszizi was represented by lawyers Keshvinder Singh and Sukhdave Singh. The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor S.S. Pavitra.

What it means for foreigners in Malaysia

The case underlines the severity of Malaysia’s drugs laws, including provisions involving cultivation. Foreign residents and visitors should be aware that allegations related to controlled drugs can carry exceptionally serious penalties, while court outcomes remain dependent on the evidence presented in each individual case.

The Ipoh ruling is an acquittal in this specific prosecution, not a change to Malaysia’s strict drug laws.

27 August 2026

Really? A mandatory life sentence for growing ONE cannabis plant?!

Absolutely pathetic! You should get a mandatory life sentence for all the ginormous ecological palm oil deserts you created! That would be much more appropriate than a life sentence for growing one marihuana plant! They’ve seriously lost the plot down there, just like Indonesia and Singapore.