Sahlan Sentenced To 15 Years In Jail For Possessing Marijuana

Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, July 4 (Antara) - The district court of Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, sentenced Sahlan (35) to 15 years in jail here on Thursday for possessing 45.67 kilograms of marijuana. The court`s judges led by Budi Susilo also fined him Rp1 billion and ordered him to be jailed for two months more if he failed to pay it. In their verdict the judges said Sahlan was proven guilty of keeping and controlling narcotic substance weighing 45.67 kilograms. The sentence was lower than the prosecutor`s demand which was 18 years in jail based on Law Number 35 of 2009 on narcotics carrying a minimum sentence of five years in jail and a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail. Against his favor the defendant had denied his action while the amount of the narcotic drug he kept was big and so capable of affecting a big number of younger generation. The defendant however had been polite during the court sessions which was in his favor. Sahlan kept the illegal substance in cupboards in the warehouse and his room in his house in Kebon Bawak Tengah, Kebon Sari, in the sub-district of Ampenan. The case was unveiled after narcotic police of Mataram Police Resort raided his house at 10am on February 2, 2013 and found the stuff. The raid was done following a month of surveillance. During the session Sahlan said he only kept the stuff from Shd who has so far been the police`s target and the police are still searching. Sahlan said that he had already sold one kilogram so the total amount of marijuana Shd entrusted to Sahlan was more than 46 kilograms. Upon hearing the verdict the defendant and his lawyer said they would think whether they would appeal it or not. They have seven days for making the decision.