Pendakwa Raya v MOKTHAR BIN SAMOH

Case Significance

A drugs prosecution over 6.84 grams of methamphetamine ending in acquittal at the close of the prosecution case where possession was not established on a maximum evaluation of the evidence.

This High Court decision at Temerloh concerns a full trial of drug charges and the Court's ruling at the close of the prosecution's case. The accused faced charges under section 39A(1) and section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, together with a charge under section 30(3) of the Poisons Act. The core allegation was that the accused had been found in possession of a quantity of methamphetamine — a net weight of 6.84 grams — discovered at a store in front of a house within the Felda Purun Dalam area in the district of Bera, Pahang.

At the close of the prosecution's case the Court was required to determine, on a maximum evaluation of the evidence, whether a prima facie case had been established such that the accused should be called to enter his defence. For the possession and aggravated-possession charges under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, the prosecution had to prove that the accused had custody and control of the drugs and knowledge of their nature — the elements of possession — before any question of the section 39A(1) aggravation or the statutory consequences could arise. The Court found that the prosecution had not succeeded in establishing a prima facie case: the evidence did not sufficiently prove the elements required to connect the accused to the drugs to the requisite standard at that stage.

Having reached that conclusion, the Court ordered the accused dilepaskan dan dibebaskan tanpa dipanggil membela diri (discharged and acquitted without being called to enter a defence). The judgment is a useful illustration of the maximum-evaluation test applied at the close of the prosecution's case in a drugs prosecution, and of the principle that where the prosecution fails to prove the essential element of possession — custody, control and knowledge — the charge cannot proceed and the accused is entitled to be acquitted without having to answer it.