Filipina drug convict freed after Malaysia's landmark constitutional ruling
Alma, a 60-year-old Filipino, left Malaysia after her death sentence was reduced to an 18-year term following a Federal Court decision that struck down a key drug-trafficking presumption.
In August 2014, Alma was detained at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after arriving from Hong Kong with 2,556.4 g of methamphetamine, resulting in a death sentence from the Shah Alam High Court. The case gained historic relevance when the Federal Court, in April 2019, invalidated Section 37A of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, ruling that the double-presumption mechanism breached personal liberty and equality guarantees in the Federal Constitution.
This constitutional breakthrough forced the commutation of Alma’s death penalty to an 18-year imprisonment term, retroactively applied to her arrest date. After receiving a one-third remission, she was released and departed from KLIA Terminal 2, thanking Kajang prison officials. Speaking through her lawyer A Srimurugan, she expressed remorse and anticipation of meeting her son in Manila that evening.
Why it matters
The ruling reshapes Malaysia's drug-trafficking prosecutions and highlights constitutional limits on presumption-based convictions.
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