Pendakwa Raya v Mr Pa-e-din Longsamah

Case Significance

Illustrates the use of section 27 discovery evidence and the exercise of post-reform sentencing discretion under the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 in a cannabis-trafficking prosecution.

This High Court decision at Alor Setar sets out the grounds of judgment in a drug-trafficking prosecution under "seksyen 39B(1)(a) Akta Dadah Berbahaya 1952" (section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952), the accused having been charged with trafficking in cannabis weighing 961.7 grams found during a raid. The prosecution called several witnesses to establish that, on entering the premises, officers detained the accused after a struggle and, on further examination, recovered the drugs. Two questions were central: whether the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, and whether evidence admitted under "seksyen 27 Akta Keterangan 1950" (section 27 of the Evidence Act 1950) — information given by an accused leading to the discovery of a fact — was relevant and admissible. The Court, guided by established trafficking authorities including Balachandran v PP and PP v Mohd Radzi Abu Bakar on the prima facie standard and the calling of the defence, and by authorities such as Chan Pean Leon v PP and Gunalan Ramachandran on possession and knowledge, examined the chain of evidence, the statutory presumptions and the question whether the accused was in possession of the drugs with the requisite knowledge. It weighed the defence account against the recovery evidence, found that a reasonable doubt had not been raised, and convicted the accused on the charge as framed. On sentence, the Court observed that the accused was fortunate to be tried after the coming into force of the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 (Akta Pemansuhan Hukuman Mati Mandatori 2023), which changed the sentencing landscape and gave the Court a choice in the punishment to impose. Exercising that discretion and declining to impose the death penalty, the Court, per Datuk Mohamad Abazafree bin Mohd Abbas J, sentenced the accused to "penjara seumur hidup dan sebatan sebanyak 12 sebatan" (life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane). The judgment illustrates the operation of section 27 evidence and of post-reform sentencing discretion in a cannabis-trafficking case.