Pendakwa Raya v Teh Kheng Leng

Case Significance

Illustrates the operation of the trafficking presumption under section 37(da) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and the importance of an unbroken chain of evidence and the proven identity of the drug, and reflects sentencing under the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 in imposing life imprisonment and caning.

This High Court decision sets out the grounds for convicting an accused, after a full trial, of trafficking in methamphetamine under section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. The accused was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine of a net weight of 104.54 grams, said to have been found in front of a hotel. The prosecution called eight witnesses, and at the close of its case the court, having conducted a maximum evaluation of the evidence and assessed the credibility of the witnesses, found that a prima facie case had been established and called on the accused to enter his defence. The accused elected to give sworn evidence and called no other witnesses. The issues the court examined included whether the chain of evidence concerning the movement of the drug exhibits had been properly preserved, whether there was any doubt as to the identity of the dangerous drug seized, and whether the defence had succeeded in rebutting the presumption of trafficking under section 37(da) of the Act on the balance of probabilities or in raising a reasonable doubt on the element of possession. The court found that the chain of evidence had been preserved, that there was no doubt as to the identity of the drug, and that the defence had failed on the balance of probabilities to rebut the statutory presumption of trafficking under section 37(da)(vi). It concluded that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused possessed the drug for the purpose of trafficking, and convicted him. In sentencing, and having regard to the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023, the court imposed life imprisonment from the date of arrest together with twelve strokes of the cane. The judgment is a useful illustration of the operation of the section 37(da) trafficking presumption and of the importance of an unbroken chain of evidence and the proven identity of the drug in a trafficking prosecution.