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March 9th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda A West Australian man is facing the death penalty in Malaysia after being formerly charged with drug trafficking in a court appearance, in which his lawyer was denied access
Perth man Dominic Jude Christopher Bird, 32, was refused bail after his appearance in the Malaysian High Court on Friday, where he was officially charged under section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act – which carries the mandatory death penalty.
Bird’s lawyer, Malaysian-based Australian Tania Scivetti, said she had been denied access to her client and was only informed of Bird’s High Court appearance and formal charges late in the afternoon.
Bird was arrested by undercover officers during a police sting at a coffee shop in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on March 1, where police alleged he tried to sell them 225g of methamphetamines.
A search of his nearby apartment uncovered a smaller quantity of drugs and led to the arrests of two local men and a Filipino woman, who are also in custody.
Under Malaysian law, a person convicted of possessing more than 50g of methamphetamines is declared a drug trafficker and faces a mandatory death sentence.
Ms Scivetti said she was uncertain what quantity of drugs Bird had been formally charged with, as she hadn’t seen the charge sheet yet.
But she confirmed he now faced the death penalty.
“Today, without informing us or the (Australian) embassy, Dominic was brought before a judge and charged with 39B, which carries the death penalty,” Ms Scivetti told AAP.
The charges were laid by Malaysia’s Department of Public Prosecutions.
Ms Scivetti speculated prosecutors must already have secured a chemist’s report of the substances allegedly found in Bird’s possession.
“They would have had to have had the chemist’s report to officially charge him,” she said.
Ms Scivetti said she had not visited her client since he was formally charged on Friday morning, but said he was in a “state of shock” on Thursday after a closed-door hearing at the Jin Jang lockup tentatively charged him with drug trafficking and remanded him in custody.
He has since been moved from his holding cell at the Dang Wang Police Station to the maximum security Sungai Buloh Remand Prison.
Bird’s next High Court appearance will be on May 25.
Ms Scivetti said she would try to visit her client on Saturday morning, and expected to file Contempt of Court charges over police handling of the case.
“The magistrate ordered yesterday that remand be extended for seven days and that counsel be entitled to visit their client for two hours a day, commencing yesterday,” she said.
“Yesterday we went to the police and requested to see Dominic and they said they were reviewing the matter and denied us access.
“They also didn’t inform us of his High Court appearance this morning, or that they were laying official charges.
“That court order has totally been ignored.”
Ms Scivetti said it had also been reported to the magistrate that Bird had been assaulted by police in custody on March 5, after he claimed he was blindfolded and “slapped around”.
“We asked her to note the fact that he was assaulted,” she said.
However, Malaysian Deputy Director of Narcotics Harris Wong denied Bird had been assaulted.
“No, no, no, no – I’m not aware of any assault,” he told AAP.
Relatives confirmed to AAP that Bird’s Perth-based father, Clayton, had flown to Malaysia on Friday, but Ms Scivetti said he had not yet visited his son in custody.
She said she was unaware of the status of Bird’s co-accused but that the arrested Filipino woman was believed to be a 55-year old maid hired to look after his luxury apartment, just 20 metres from the coffee shop where he had been arrested.
The Australian Government has refused to speculate on Bird’s case, only to reiterate it opposes the death penalty and would seek a stay of execution if he were convicted.
Malaysia has executed three Australians for drug offences.
Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers were hanged in July 1986, followed by Michael McAuliffe in June 1993.
AAP
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