Pendakwa Raya v NORAZAN BIN CHE DERAHMAN

Case Significance

Illustrates the two-stage inquiry under the Criminal Procedure Code in a trafficking prosecution under section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, the treatment of a bare-denial defence, and the imposition of life imprisonment with caning under section 39B(2).

This High Court decision sets out the grounds for the conviction of an accused, after a full trial, for trafficking in cannabis under section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. The charge alleged that the accused was found trafficking in cannabis of a net weight of 3,259.5 grams at a house, an offence punishable under section 39B(2) by death or life imprisonment with twelve strokes of the cane. The prosecution case was that a raiding party, acting on public information, kept the premises under observation and then recovered the drugs, connecting the accused to them. Applying section 180(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court was satisfied at the close of the prosecution case that a prima facie case had been established, and it called on the accused to enter his defence. The accused's defence was treated by the court as consisting of afterthoughts (pemikiran terkemudian) and a bare denial (penafian), which the court found unpersuasive against the direct evidence of the police eyewitnesses, whose testimony it accepted as clear and straightforward. At the close of the defence case, having considered the evidence and submissions on a maximum evaluation, the court held that the accused had failed to cast a reasonable doubt on the prosecution case, which had been proved beyond reasonable doubt, and that he had not displaced the prima facie case established earlier. It accordingly found the accused guilty and convicted him of trafficking under section 39B(1)(a), and imposed a sentence of life imprisonment from the date of arrest together with twelve strokes of the cane (penjara seumur hidup dari tarikh tangkap dengan 12 sebatan). The accused filed an appeal against conviction and sentence. The judgment is a detailed illustration of the two-stage inquiry under the Criminal Procedure Code, the treatment of a bare-denial defence, and the sentencing options available on a trafficking conviction under section 39B.