KUALA LUMPUR – The Court of Appeal today acquitted and discharged composer and nasyid singer Muhammad Yasin Sulaiman from three drug-related charges, overturning the High Court’s earlier decision that sentenced him to life imprisonment and 16 strokes of the cane.
The court also ordered that Yasin, 50, be returned to Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta in Perak.
The unanimous decision was delivered by a three-judge panel comprising Judge Che Ruzima Ghazali, Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, and Judge Azmi Ariffin.
The ruling reinstated the decision made by Petaling Jaya Sessions Court Judge Faiz Dziyauddin, who had acquitted and discharged Yasin on November 29, 2023.
At the time, Judge Faiz also ordered Yasin to be placed under the custody of Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Tanjung Rambutan in Perak, for as long as consented to by the Sultan of Selangor, as provided under Section 348(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
“The accused (Yasin) was not in a sound mental state when committing the offences. Although he was aware of his actions, the mania (unstable emotions) he was experiencing at the time caused severe cognitive deterioration, rendering him unable to comprehend that his actions were wrong and against the law.
“Therefore, under Section 348(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court decided to place the accused under the custody of Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Tanjung Rambutan in Perak, for as long as consented to by the Sultan of Selangor, as provided under Section 348(2) of the CPC,” the judge said at the time.
However, on August 22, High Court Judge Datuk Norsharidah Awang allowed the prosecution’s appeal against the Sessions Court ruling and sentenced the Mimpi Laila singer to life imprisonment and 16 strokes of the cane.
Yasin was initially charged on March 24 last year with one count of possessing 193.7 grammes of cannabis and one count of cultivating 17 cannabis plants in plastic pots at his home in Kota Damansara.
The first charge, under Section 39A(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, carries a sentence of between five years’ imprisonment and life imprisonment, along with a maximum of 20 strokes of the cane.
The second charge, for cultivating cannabis, falls under Section 6B(1)(a) of the same Act and provides for life imprisonment and a minimum of six strokes of the cane upon conviction.
The third charge, for self-administering cannabis, was framed under Section 15(1)(a) of the Act, punishable under Section 15(1), which carries a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, upon conviction.
As for his fourth charge — trafficking 214 grammes of cannabis at his home — Yasin faced a potential death sentence, but he was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) in July last year. – April 28, 2025