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KUALA LUMPUR : A Japanese woman will be charged in a Malaysian court on Wednesday with drug trafficking, and faces the death penalty if found guilty, according to her lawyer.
"She will be charged in the Sepang Magistrate's Court tomorrow under the Dangerous Drugs Act," lawyer Gobind Singh said Tuesday, adding that there will be a Japanese interpreter present in court during the proceedings.
The lawyer said no plea was recorded from the 30-year-old woman when she appeared in court earlier this month as there was no interpreter.
The woman is being kept in a police lock up.
The Japanese national was detained at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on October 30 over possession of 4.7 kilograms (10 pounds) of methamphetamines, known as "syabu" in the region.
The drug, with a street value of 1.2 million ringgit (350,000 dollars), was allegedly found in a special compartment in her luggage after she arrived from Dubai. Drug addiction is a major social ill in Malaysia.
Custom officials said it was the first time the authorities had arrested a Japanese national for a drug offence.
The woman faces a mandatory death penalty, which is carried out by hanging in Malaysia, if convicted.
- AFP/vm
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