Hadhariah bt Syed Ismail

On the judicial record

A clear illustration of criminal appellate reasoning under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, the Penal Code and section 114(g) of the Evidence Act 1950, together with the review of a Coroner's open verdict and an unfair-dismissal appeal.

Hadhariah bt Syed Ismail sits in the Court of Appeal, and this collection is largely criminal appellate work, with judgments in both English and Bahasa Malaysia. Drug appeals are prominent: appeals against conviction and sentence for trafficking in dangerous drugs under section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, including trafficking in methamphetamine, and the operation of the adverse-inference principle under section 114(g) of the Evidence Act 1950 where a charge was read with section 34 of the Penal Code on common intention. Homicide features through a criminal appeal on murder under section 302 of the Penal Code and the defence of insanity assessed against the overall circumstantial evidence. Criminal procedure is addressed through a preliminary objection that an appeal was incompetent and had been rendered academic, engaging section 50 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, and through the review of a Coroner's open verdict and the finding that a person was criminally concerned, engaging section 328 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Employment law appears through an unfair-dismissal matter concerning a serious breach of duty and misconduct and the Industrial Court's power to conduct its own hearing under the Industrial Relations Act 1967. Because the Court of Appeal sits in panels and its rulings bind or guide the courts below, these decisions reflect collective reasoning to which this judge contributed. Private individuals and accused persons are referred to by role; corporate, governmental and statutory parties are named. A recurring theme is the appellate court's careful scrutiny of the evidence and of the competence of the appeal itself before it turns to the merits, so that an incompetent or academic appeal is identified at the threshold. The collection is a clear illustration of criminal appellate reasoning under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, the Penal Code and the Evidence Act 1950, and of the way the Court of Appeal tests both the conviction below and the appeal before it.