KUALA LUMPUR: An Australian man facing the death penalty in Malaysia on drug charges saw his lawyers say they were hopeful that the man would be acquitted of all charges and released. They slammed police work when carrying out forensic tests ahead of the trial, which began on Monday. Dominic Bird, 32, has pleaded not guilty to two charges, the most serious of which relates to drug dealing and carries a mandatory death sentence. He has also been charged with drug use. His lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah criticized forensic analysis work carried out by police, saying they had failed to test a sufficient amount of the drugs in order to take the case to trial. Police told Bikyamasr.com that the man had attempted to sell undercover officers some 167 grams of meth and was arrested shortly after. He is to face two charges, one of which could carry the mandatory death penalty. According to Australian media, at the time of his arrest, police said Bird and a number of alleged associates had been under surveillance and that the sting was part of an ongoing narcotics operation. It is yet another drugs case involving an Australian in Malaysia. Earlier this fall, an Australian woman was set free by Malaysian authorities after she was arrested on similar drug charges in a case that sparked international attention and involved the Australian government interceding on her behalf.
