Pinoy pizza waiter gets life over 0.08g drugs in UAE

A United Arab Emirates court on Monday upheld a life sentence for a Filipino pizza waiter who had been convicted for possessing 0.08 gram of methamphetamine allegedly for trading purposes.

The Dubai Cassation Court confirmed the life sentence against the Filipino, who was found guilty of possessing 0.08 gram of methamphetamine, Gulf News reported.

Monday’s ruling has become irrevocable, the report said.

“The court has rejected the petitioner’s appeal. He will also have to pay a fine of Dh50,000. He will be deported following the completion of his punishment,” the report quoted presiding judge Abdul Aziz Abdullah as saying.

Earlier, the 32-year-old Filipino appealed his conviction but the court rejected it.

According to a separate report on the Filipino Times, the Filipinoo admitted in the courts that he possessed the methamphetamine but only for personal use.

“I did possess the drug but only for my own use,” he was quoted as saying in both the criminal and appeal courts.

The Filipino was arrested by the police following a tip-off, the report said.

Last May, the Dubai Court of First Instance acquitted the Filipino and his fellow Filipino waiter of possessing methamphetamine for trading purposes.

But prosecutors appealed the acquittal before the Appeal Court, which overturned the original ruling and had the Filipinos jailed for life.

The court also fined them Dh50,000.

Only one of the convicts appealed the decision before the Cassation Court.

According to the Filipino's lawyer, 0.08 gram was too small for trading purposes or distribution. The lawyer added the Filipino already confessed possessing the substance for his personal consumption.—Joel Locsin and Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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