SEPANG: After spending 12 years in prison in Malaysia, Filipino national Alma Nudo Atenza left the country today after having become the central figure in a landmark ruling that reshaped the law on drug-trafficking prosecutions.
Alma, 60, was arrested at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Aug 19, 2014, after arriving from Hong Kong with 2,556.4g of methamphetamine.
She was convicted of drug trafficking by the Shah Alam High Court and sentenced to death.
Her case took a historic turn when it reached the Federal Court.
In April 2019, a nine-member bench led by then chief justice Richard Malanjum struck down Section 37A of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 as unconstitutional.
The provision allowed the prosecution to rely on two successive statutory presumptions to establish a drug-trafficking charge, easing its burden of proving guilt.
The Federal Court ruled that the double-presumption mechanism violated Article 5(1) of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees personal liberty, read together with Article 8(1), which guarantees equality before the law.
The decision strengthened constitutional safeguards for accused persons by restricting the use of successive presumptions to secure convictions in serious criminal cases.
However, the ruling did not legalise drug trafficking or invalidate other presumptions under the Act. It struck down only the provision allowing the use of two successive presumptions.
Following the ruling, Alma’s death sentence was commuted to 18 years’ imprisonment, backdated to the day of her arrest.
She was released early after receiving a one-third remission of her sentence.
Speaking through her lawyer, A Srimurugan, at the departure hall of KLIA Terminal 2, Alma thanked the officers at Kajang prison for looking after her during her incarceration.
She also expressed regret over her actions and said she hoped to reunite with her son, who was expected to meet her upon her arrival in Manila tonight.