SINGAPORE, May 12 — Metro Holdings scion Ong Jenn was acquitted of two drug trafficking charges today, but pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted possession of cannabis.

The 41-year-old did so after District Judge Jasvender Kaur amended the two charges after judging that prosecutors did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that he had trafficked a block of 92.68g of cannabis and another block of 385.1g of cannabis mixture.

The verdict follows a three-day trial in February, where Ong had disputed the two charges of engaging in a conspiracy with convicted drug dealer Mohamad Ismail Abdul Majid to traffic cannabis on October 30, 2014.

Six other related charges, including for the consumption and possession of drugs, were stood down.

Ong, who was represented by Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, claimed that he only had a "buyer-seller” relationship with his supplier Ismail.

The cannabis he has been buying was also solely for his own use.

Tan had earlier said it would be "wholly perverse” to accuse those who purchase drugs for personal use of abetting drug trafficking.

But prosecutors charged that the relationship between Ong, the grandson of department chain Metro’s founder Ong Tjoe Kim, and Ismail was more than a transactional one.

During the trial, prosecutors tendered WhatsApp messages taken from Ong’s phone, which reportedly showed at least two individuals approaching him to replenish their supplies.

Delivering her findings today, Kaur said there was no evidence to suggest that Ong’s purchase was linked to these messages.

Instead, she amended his two drug trafficking charges to that of attempted possession of cannabis.

For each charge of attempted possession of drugs, Ong faces up to 10 years’ jail and a fine of S$20,000 (RM61,713).

He will return to court again on June 22 after he has decided on whether he intends to contest or plead guilty on his remaining six charges.

Ismail was jailed 22 years and given 18 strokes of the cane in September 2015 after pleading guilty to three of seven drug-related charges. — TODAY