Ivan Bong

On the court record

Ivan Bong's reported practice is in criminal defence in the High Court, acting for the accused in the most serious offences. The judgments are largely in Bahasa Malaysia.

One matter is a murder trial in which he acted for the accused. Called to enter a defence, the accused raised the exception of unsoundness of mind under "seksyen 84 Kanun Keseksaan" (section 84 of the Penal Code); the court was satisfied that the accused had successfully established that exception and made an order under "seksyen 347" of the Criminal Procedure Code — the disposal that follows an acquittal on the ground of unsoundness of mind.

A group of related matters concerns drug prosecutions. Acting for the accused on charges under section 39B and sections 12(2) and 6 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and the Poisons Act 1952, the trials turned on the sufficiency of the prosecution's case at its close. In one, the first accused was called to enter a defence on the charge under section 12(2), but at the close of the prosecution case the court found that the Public Prosecutor had failed to make out a prima facie case ("Pendakwa Raya gagal menunjukkan kes prima facie") and both accused were acquitted and discharged ("dibebas dan dilepaskan di akhir kes pendakwaan").

On this record the practice is serious criminal defence, spanning homicide and drug offences, carried out at trial in the High Court. The recurring work is to test the prosecution's case at the half-way stage and, where the evidence falls short, to secure an acquittal, or, where the facts support it, to establish a statutory exception such as unsoundness of mind — on behalf of accused persons facing the gravest charges the criminal law provides. The recurring task is to hold the prosecution to its burden at the close of its case, and to make good a statutory defence where the evidence supports it.