SINGAPORE - A drug courier's jail sentence was increased to life imprisonment following an appeal.

The Court of Appeal also sentenced Aishamudin Jamaludin, 35, to 15 strokes of the cane. This was stated in a judgment seen by The Straits Times on Friday (July 17).

In his earlier trial, he was sentenced to 25 years' jail with the same number of strokes.

Aishamudin and another man, Suhaizam Khariri, 35, were colleagues employed as truck drivers to deliver goods from Malaysia to Singapore.

During the deliveries, Aishamudin would act on behalf of drug traffickers - known to him as Tambi and Suhadi - to deliver drugs to people in Singapore in exchange for cash.

Suhadi told Aishamudin that there was a "job" for him on Oct 6, 2015. Aishamudin then collected a red plastic bag, which Suhadi said contained diamorphine, also known as heroin, and methamphetamine.

On the same day, Aishamudin asked Suhaizam to help him transport drugs to Singapore and Suhaizam agreed. Aishamudin had expected that they would receive RM4,000 (S$1,300) for making this delivery.

The pair went to Bulim Avenue, near Jurong West Avenue 2, after 9pm and were not aware that Central Narcotics Bureau officers were observing them. They were arrested soon after.

In January 2018, Suhaizam pleaded guilty to delivering two packets of a powdery substance found to contain not less than 14.99g of diamorphine. He was then sentenced to 25 years' jail with 15 strokes of the cane.

Aishamudin was charged with delivering two packets of a similar substance containing not less than 32.54g of diamorphine.

He claimed trial and the judge later found it "logically unsound" for the prosecution to charge the pair over different amounts of the drug.

The judge then amended Aishamudin's charge to reflect the amount stated in Suhaizam's before sentencing Aishamudin to 25 years' jail with 15 strokes of the cane.

The prosecution then appealed this year against the trial judge's decision to amend Aishamudin's original charge.

Delivering the Court of Appeal's judgment, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said that Suhaizam's charge and Aishamudin's original charge were not inconsistent charges.

The Chief Justice added: "With respect, the judge erred in holding that the lower amount of Suhaizam (14.99g) cannot possibly include the larger amount of Aishamudin (32.54g).

"Both Suhaizam's charge and the original charge against Aishamudin are capable of constituting part of a single coherent world of facts, namely, one in which Suhaizam and Aishamudin both shared the common intention to traffic in 32.54g (or more) of diamorphine."

The Court of Appeal then allowed the prosecution's appeal and convicted Aishamudin of his original charge.