Malaysia has one of the toughest drug laws in the world, where a tiny amount of banned substances can lead one to the gallows without room for clemency.
A man in Penang who was arrested for drug-related offences decided to end his life with his own handmade noose just a day after he was nabbed inside the Seberang Prai Selatan (SPS) lock-up in Nibong Tebal.
Drug suspect hangs himself inside Penang jail
NST reported that the 40-year-old suspect, who was nabbed by police on Wednesday (July 5) and hauled to court for a remand procedure was found hanging by his shirt from the grille in his cell at around 10am by a prison officer yesterday after returning there.
Aside from him, there were three other suspects sharing the cell and all of them were sleeping after having a meal.
Penang police chief Datuk Khaw Kok Chin said CCTV footage showed the suspect killing himself and added that the case has been classified as sudden death as no criminal elements were found.
A coroner later pronounced the suspect dead as part of the investigation.
Suspect had multiple drug records
Khaw said the suspect was arrested by police during one of the four drug raids carried out in Nibong Tebal and Kulim, where he was found to have four previous drug-related records.
From the raids, police seized a total of 12.72kg of drugs, including ganja and mushrooms worth RM116,000 as well as two cars worth RM80,000, a motorcycle worth RM4,500 and RM1,020 in cash.
If the drugs had successfully made its way into the market, it would have been supplied to at least 50,000 drug addicts.
Khaw said the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952 and that Penang police have made a total of 7,216 drug-related arrests between Jan 1 and June 30 of this year.
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