Pendakwa Raya v WESLEY LOH CHEE YOU

Case Significance

Illustrates a drug-trafficking conviction under section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 reached after a full trial on a substantial quantity of methamphetamine, and the exercise of the sentencing discretion following the abolition of the mandatory death penalty.

This High Court decision at Temerloh concerns a charge of drug trafficking under seksyen 39B(1)(a) Akta Dadah Berbahaya 1952 (section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952), punishable under seksyen 39B(2), in respect of 769.9 grams net of methamphetamine found at the lobby of a hotel in Raub. The accused claimed trial, and the prosecution called ten witnesses before closing its case. The proceedings had a protracted history, the charge having been read in late 2020 but the trial only beginning in late 2023 after adjournments occasioned by representations made to the prosecution and by the movement restrictions imposed during the pandemic. The court subjected the prosecution's evidence to maximum evaluation at the close of the prosecution case and, being satisfied that a prima facie case had been made out, called on the accused to enter his defence. At the conclusion of the whole case the court found that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted the accused of the trafficking charge. On sentence, the court noted that the death penalty is no longer mandatory for an offence under section 39B and that it enjoyed a discretion to impose the alternative sentence. Having considered the evidence and the circumstances of the case, the court took the view that the death penalty was not appropriate and that the more suitable sentence was imprisonment for thirty years from the date of arrest together with twelve strokes of whipping. The judgment is a useful illustration of a trafficking conviction reached after a full trial on a substantial quantity of methamphetamine, and of the exercise of the sentencing discretion under section 39B following the abolition of the mandatory death penalty. The judgment also illustrates the deliberate, staged structure of a trafficking trial, with a maximum evaluation of the evidence at the close of the prosecution case, a defence, and a conviction only on proof beyond reasonable doubt, and it shows the sentencing court weighing the gravity of the offence and the quantity of drugs against the circumstances of the case before settling on the alternative to the death penalty.