Muhammad Abd Kadir & Co

On the court record

Muhammad Abd Kadir & Co is a Malaysian firm whose reported matters before the High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) are predominantly criminal defence, with a strand of civil procedure. Acting for accused persons in prosecutions brought by the Public Prosecutor (Pendakwa Raya), the firm has concentrated on dangerous-drugs trafficking under section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, where the recurring questions are whether the prosecution has established that the substance was a dangerous drug, that the accused was in possession, and that the accused was trafficking, proof of trafficking sometimes resting on direct evidence of conduct falling within the statutory definition.

The firm has secured favourable outcomes at the close of the prosecution case. In one trafficking prosecution the second accused was dilepas dan dibebaskan di akhir kes pendakwaan (released and acquitted at the close of the prosecution case), the court finding that common intention under section 34 of the Penal Code had not been proved, that there was no presumption of common intention, and that there was no evidence of prior planning between the accused or of any act or conduct by the second accused connecting him to the offence. In further prosecutions turning on drugs found within a shared house, the defence tested the significance of who had opened the gate and doors and where the keys were found, questions bearing on possession and knowledge.

On the civil side the firm has argued an application to strike out a writ and statement of claim under Order 18 Rule 19 of the Rules of Court 2012, on the grounds that the claim disclosed no reasonable cause of action, was clearly barred by limitation under section 6 of the Limitation Act 1953, and amounted to an abuse of process. The reported profile is that of a criminal-defence practice focused on drug prosecutions, engaged in contesting the elements of trafficking and the proof of common intention, complemented by civil striking-out work.