04 June 2008 :

in what is believed to be one of the oldest cases in the court system, Siew Yoke Keong, a 40 year old welder, was sentenced to death for drug trafficking after being held in remand for 11 years in Malaysia. This is the second time he was on trial and sentenced to death for the offence. Siew was found guilty by judge Datuk Zaharah Ibrahim for trafficking in 1,583.4g of heroin and monoacetylmorphines at a rented house at No. 6862-A Lorong 3-D, Kampung Baru Subang, Petaling Jaya at 1.45am on Aug 13, 1997. Siew was initially arrested and charged in 1997 with the same offence and was found guilty on May 5, 2000, after two judges presided in his case. Siew appealed to the Court of Appeal, which ordered a retrial because he did not have an opportunity to hear any of the prosecution witnesses. It transferred his case back to the High Court for a prosecution. Siew was retried in April 2005 before Zaharah. After 10 prosecution and one defence witness testified, he was again found guilty.