SHAH ALAM: The bass player of the New Boyz band, Radin Irwan Dzul Karnain Isagani, escaped the gallows Friday when the High Court here acquitted and discharged him of a drug trafficking charge without calling for his defence.

Justice Datuk Akhtar Tahir made the decision after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case, which he said, was due to weaknesses in the police investigation.

He also questioned the credibility of the second prosecution witness, the raiding officer in the case, and also that of the investigation officer, whom he recommended be sent for mental evaluation.

Zack, 33, who has two children, was charged with trafficking in 1,321gm of cannabis at a condominium unit in Persiaran Surian, Petaling Jaya near here at 9.20pm on Jan 26, 2010.

In his judgment, Akhtar also touched on the quality of the investigation conducted by the police.

He said an experienced raiding officer would have conducted immediate investigation at the scene, but in this case, the raiding officer arrested the accused and then took him to the police station and handed over the task to an investigating officer.

"The raiding officer also did not make any effort to find the evidence or whether the accused was staying at the crime scene.

"More shocking is to know that the exhibit was found below the building but the raiding officer did not go to see the exhibit himself, instead, requested that the box (containing the drug) be brought upstairs.

"I don't understand this attitude, where the exhibit fell was also not established.

"Another thing, a box which fell from the 11th floor should be crumpled but there was nothing stated about the condition of the box, whether it was crumpled or intact," he added. On the recommendation for the investigating officer be sent for mental evaluation, Akhtar said it was based on how the police officer responded to questions during the court proceedings.

"Apart from his way of answering questions, the investigation was also not complete.

“The house owner was only found two years after the incident," he added.

Prosecution was conducted by DPP Norhani Mohamad Adzhar, while Zack was represented by lawyer Puan Sri N. Saraswathy Devi. - Bernama

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