▲ This file photo provided by police shows meth hidden in a backpack of a Malaysian national arrested at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Aug. 2, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Malaysian-sentence

Malaysian gets 7-yr sentence for trying to smuggle meth from Cambodia

INCHEON, Dec. 11 (Yonhap) -- A Malaysian national has been sentenced to seven years in prison for attempting to smuggle methamphetamine from Cambodia into South Korea, a court said Monday.

The 23-year-old Malaysian was arrested on Aug. 2 for hiding 2.9 kilograms of meth in his backpack after arriving at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on a flight from Cambodia. The amount is enough for some 98,000 doses worth about 740 million won (US$562,000).

The Malaysian has denied the drug smuggling charges, insisting that he was just doing a part-time job moving clothes in the backpack from Cambodia and he did not know there was meth hidden inside.

But the Incheon District Court found him guilty, saying intentionality was recognized considering the circumstances before and after his crime.

"Considering the defendant's monthly salary of 420,000 won in Malaysia, it is difficult to believe that he worked part-time moving clothes in exchange for 2.7 million won," the court said.

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