KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — A French man facing a potential death sentence for drug possession and trafficking in Malaysia is set to hear his fate towards the end of next month, his mother and lawyer confirmed on Tuesday.
Tom Felix, a 34-year old former executive of French waste management firm Veolia, has denied all charges since police arrested him in 2023 after finding several hundred grams of cannabis in the common area of a home he shared with his Malaysian business partner.
Prosecutors and the defence will make final oral presentations to the court on January 14 in the northern city of Alor Setar, where Felix is being held.
The court’s verdict and sentence, should he be convicted, would be delivered in the following weeks.
“The judge will then have 15 days to render a decision, which is expected at the end of January,” Felix’s mother, Sylvie Felix told AFP.
The trial adjourned on Tuesday and would resume in mid-January, Felix’s lawyer told AFP.
“The prosecution has closed its case today after two more witnesses completed their testimony,” said lawyer Collin Andrew.
If found guilty, Felix faces the death penalty, or 104 years of cumulative imprisonment, 54 strokes with the cane and a €27,000 (RM129,500) fine, his mother, Sylvie Felix, previously told AFP.
Drug possession and trafficking are serious crimes in Malaysia that can still carry the death sentence if the amount of narcotics involved is above a certain threshold.
Death sentences, however, are no longer mandatory, and no executions have taken place since 2018.
“At this stage, the defence lawyers are confident that it will be a favourable decision for Tom, which should result in his acquittal,” Sylvie Felix said. — AFP
