RAGUNATHAN A/L THANGIAH v Pendakwa Raya

Case Significance

Illustrates how an accused's act of pointing out concealed drugs, taken together with possession of the key to the premises where they are found, can prove the custody and control required for a conviction under section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

This Court of Appeal decision is one of three related criminal appeals by the same appellant, heard together, against convictions for drug trafficking under seksyen 39B(1)(a) Akta Dadah Berbahaya 1952 (section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952) entered by the High Court at Johor Bahru. The facet emphasised in this appeal is proof of possession, custody and control. The prosecution's case was that the appellant had the power to deal with the drugs as an owner, to the exclusion of others: the drugs were recovered as a result of the appellant's own pointing out (tunjuk arah), and the key to the premises where the drugs were found was in the pocket of the appellant's trousers. The appellant argued that these matters did not establish exclusive possession and that the statutory presumption of trafficking under seksyen 37(da) had been wrongly relied upon. The panel of Azman bin Abdullah, Lim Chong Fong and Lim Hock Leng JJCA considered whether the combination of the appellant's conduct in leading the police to the drugs and his possession of the key to the premises supported the trial judge's finding of custody and control, and whether the appellant's conduct evidenced a connection to the drugs admissible under the surrounding-circumstances provisions of the Evidence Act 1950. Reviewing the grounds of the High Court judge, the written and oral submissions and the whole of the evidence, the court was satisfied that possession and control had been properly established and that the trial judge's findings were not perverse. It dismissed the appeal and affirmed the conviction and sentence, maintaining the decision of the High Court. The judgment is a useful illustration of how an accused's act of pointing out drugs, taken with possession of the key to the place where they are hidden, can prove the custody and control required for a trafficking conviction.