KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia —A Filipino college lecturer is facing the death penalty on charges of smuggling marijuana, a Malaysian prosecutor said.
Government lawyer Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin says Aida Dizon Garcia pleaded innocent in a court in Malaysia’s central Negri Sembilan state Thursday. A conviction carries the mandatory penalty of execution by hanging.
Wan Shahruddin says the 51-year-old from Quezon City was arrested in November after exiting a bus from Thailand. He says police found 26.2 pounds (11.9 kilograms) of marijuana worth 17,800 ringgit ($5,900) in the luggage she carried.
The court allowed Garcia until April 20 to get a lawyer.
Wan Shaharuddin said Friday that Garcia was traveling as a tourist. Police trailed her bus because of a tip.