Rozana Zubir acquitted
Breaking News! Rozana Zubir, 36, the car saleswoman from Perlis who was detained for alleged drug-trafficking at Brisbane airport on April 1 last year on her way back to Kuala Lumpur, has been acquitted and discharged by the Sydney District Court today.
This has been the rivetting human interest story tracked by investigative reporter Eddie Chua, when he was reporting for the Malay Mail at the time when Ahiruddin 'Rocky' Attan was the editor.
Both of them have since left Malay Mail, which has been pulled out from the market for two weeks pending a total revamp.
Reporter Chua almost single-handedly contacted Malaysian-born lawyer Raj Palany, Rozana's counsel in Sydney who initially came to her defence pro bono, to get the story out.
After he has left the Malay Mail, he carried on his probe and published his story through theSun. However, we have to see if his current employer, The Star, will allow him the same latitude to follow-up on Rozana's 'born-again' story.
'Born-again' Rozana
Rozana was charged with smuggling 5kg of opium in Australia last year. The Australian Customs officers found a block of tar-like substance in her luggage when she arrived in Sydney on March 27. Although the officers seized the block, Rozana was allowed into the country.
On April 1, she was arrested at Brisbane Airport while returning to Kuala Lumpur and was told the block contained opium resin which could be used to make heroin. However, she pleaded that the substance was planted in her luggage by a foreigner acquaintance without her express knowledge of the content.
She faced a life sentence and a fine of A$750,000 (RM2.14mil). The hearing of her case was delayed May 8 as the court couldn't assign a judge.
Though the Malaysian government has not publicly assisted Rozana through the official diplomatic channels, it is understood that Umno, through the office of Perlis menteri besar Shahidan Kassim, has set up a legal fund to help secure Rozana's acquittal.
The legal fund, coordinated by leading criminal lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, was understood to have reached RM700,000, sufficient to pay off Rozana's legal fees.
I wish that Eddie Chua could place a call to Rozana's mother to console her that her prayers have been answered.
And good for you Eddie. You should write a book about it because Rozana deserves a new life.
Comments
Our Malaysian Govt can't very well be seen to help out too much when it involves drug trafficking. It would undermine our own tough stance on these people (traffickers).
It pays to be careful who you associate with, lest that newfound friend uses you for their own profit, leaving you to take the rap.
It must've been hell for Rozana's family, though without knowing the full story I cannot say I symphatize too much with her. Hopefully she was innocent....Drug traffickers are equal to mass murderers....!!!
Posted by: civ96110
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May 12, 2006 10:56 AM
Ths district court has made its verdict and she is acquitted.
Good job Eddie Chua, true Malaysian goes beyond colors, creeds, religions or race in discharging his/her duties.
Posted by: ynos
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May 12, 2006 02:54 PM
Jeff,
What say you about this blogger?
Vlsit this site.
http://skrinsot.blogspot.com/
Posted by: ynos
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May 12, 2006 03:30 PM
Good that she was caught in AU rather than in malaysia.
The most, she would spend 2-3 years in a holiday jail.
If she would have been caught in malaysia, its the ropes or alot of money.
I agree, its best to know your friends well & not to carry any luggage for them.
I wish her all the best.
Posted by: tjwork
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May 12, 2006 03:45 PM
These are accusations against you Jeff. Are they true? What's the story about?
"...Yang peliknya, Jeff Ooi yang ditindas tinggal di sebuah rumah mewah kawasan elit USJ Subang Jaya. Disebalik pintu gerbang otomatik dengan dua buah kereta dan menulis dalam suasana berhawa dingin sambil menikmati duit yang disalurkan oleh parti Gerakan melalui Lim Keng Yaik dan Koh Tsu Koon, dua orang yang amat rapat dengan Jeff Ooi, beliau masih tidak puas dengan apa yang ada. Rapatnya dengan tokoh parti Gerakan sampai tidak pernah beliau mengutuk dua orang "terhormat" ini walaupun sah yang Lim Keng Yaik berkeliaran dengan Vincent Tan semasa diBarcelona macam lintah dikaki sejurus sebelum MITV diberikan lesen 3G dan Digi tidak. Mengapa Jeff Ooi tidak ketawa dengan dunia? ..."
JEFF OOI says: muahahahahahahahhaha... ahem ahem,,, muahahahahahahahahha ROTFL.
Posted by: atanjamil
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May 12, 2006 05:56 PM
sad to say, that blog dedicates to jeff bashing. He does not even has the decency to identify himself. Probably some1 hiding under his mama's skirt.
jeff, you are doing us a good job & your lifestyle is what a free enterprise is all about, work harder/smarter & benefit, not being lazy & waiting for a handout from the goverment.
While some of us do have the lifestyle, many dont & I think your blog inspires many to work harder even being handicaped with studies, business & job opportunities.
So cheers, im here to support you & every1 that works hard for themself.
Posted by: tjwork
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May 12, 2006 09:43 PM
Even though I might not agree with some of Jeff's views, overall I can see that his arguements are mostly fair and rationale. I still give him a lot of respect.
As for the skrinsot, he memang putar-belit and only pick part of the message to prove himself right which is very dishonest. The best is do not give feedback to his blog. Once his blog is empty after sometimes, he will die of natural cause. Screwing him up will only give him orgasm to do more.
Posted by: amalaysian
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May 13, 2006 10:39 AM
never knew what shahidan did until i read this blog. However did read about eddie chua's piece then. But your good words only goes to eddie (not rocky?) but why no similar treatment towards shahidan? somebody claimed you to be fair but .... personally one should be given credit if one deserves it.
JEFF OOI says: Hey, bone picker an hair-splitter, you shoud join me to mention Shahidan and Mohd Shafee as weel.
Posted by: atanjamil
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May 13, 2006 10:51 PM
"Mat jeff", "scrinshot"... Jeff, you've got a llloooonnnggg way to go for imitations. Elvis has collected a few millions of them. But then he had an early start and he had a more glamorous profession. Well I guess having a good laugh over it is still much beter...
Posted by: LC Teh
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May 14, 2006 10:09 AM
Jeff, just ignore tht Mat Jeff...u r way too good. I don't understand why tht Mat Jeff must create a blog just to bash you..dont' have any work maybe..by the way..just keep on doing your good job..about tht Mat Jeff biarkan dia
Posted by: nhm
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May 15, 2006 11:49 AM
By indulging in character assassination, the blogger at 'skrinsot' is only creating a broader publicity base for Jeff. Screenshots gives an excellent in depth perspective of the current events in Malaysia. If somebody is pissed off by the articles in Screenshots, it must be a case of sour grapes. Keep up the good work Jeff – y’r site is an excellent inspiring piece of online journalism! Let barking dogs bark.
Posted by: bnaipal
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May 16, 2006 03:03 PM