KUALA LUMPUR: A woman who caused a stir when she danced naked near a city highway about two years ago, escaped the gallows when the High Court here Thursday acquitted her on a charge of trafficking in 65 methamphetamine capsules weighing about 548.5gm, which were found in her stomach.

Justice Kamardin Hashim ruled that Sidibe Mariame, 21, from Guinea, had raised reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case, with the court agreeing with her testimony that she was intoxicated with drugs after one of the capsules burst.

During her defence, Mariame had told the trial judge that she arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Feb 7, 2011 and stayed at a hotel near Cheras.

She claimed to have met a man, Michael, who forced the capsules into her mouth.

Kamardin also agreed with her counsel K. A. Ramu's submission on the medical report, which did not rule out the possibility that one of the capsules could have burst, resulting in the young woman taking off her clothes and dancing in a public area.

Besides Mariame, forensic psychiatrist Dr Rabaiah Mohd Salleh of Hospital Bahagia was also called as a defence witness.

According to the facts of the case, a naked Mariame was seen jumping and shouting along the Middle Ring Road highway before the public alerted the police.

The single mother was later taken to the Universiti Kebangsaan Medical Centre where doctors found the drugs.

Mariame was charged with trafficking in the drugs in front of a restaurant at the Cheras Business Centre, Cheras about 2pm on Feb 7, 2011.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jean Sharmila Jesudeson appeared for the prosecution. - Bernama

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