KUALA LUMPUR: The trial of an Australian man charged with setting up a drug deal saw his trial adjourned on Wednesday in what has become a case of interest for both Malaysia and Australia. 32-year-old Dominic Bird's trial at Kuala Lumpur's High Court was to have continued on Wednesday with the cross-examination of the undercover police officer who set up a meeting for a drug deal that led to Bird's arrest in the Malaysian capital in March last year. The hearing was adjourned for a day on Wednesday when the court was told the prosecutor had fallen ill and is expected to continue on Thursday. Bird was arrested at a cafe near his apartment in Kuala Lumpur as he allegedly handed over a package containing 167 grams of methamphetamine to Inspector Luther Nurjib, who had been posing as a drug dealer. Bird 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 Bikyanews.com at the beginning of the trial 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. BN
