Sivananthan a/l Nithyanantham

On the court record

Engages the elements of drug trafficking and the prima-facie-case threshold under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and the operation of the parol evidence rule under the Evidence Act 1950.

Sivananthan a/l Nithyanantham appears in this corpus in the drug jurisdiction, both defending at first instance and arguing on appeal. As counsel for the accused in the High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi), he acted in trials for drug trafficking under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. The catchwords set the issues out in Malay: "pengedaran dadah" (drug trafficking) and its elements — whether the accused had "jagaan, kawalan dan milikan" (custody, control and possession) of the drugs. In one trial the defence pointed to a "percanggahan naratif semasa penangkapan" (an inconsistency in the narrative of the arrest) and to the presence of a third party at the scene, and the court had to decide whether a prima facie case had been established. In another, concerning cannabis and a charge under section 39B of the Act, the question was whether the prosecution had proved a prima facie case and whether the accused should be "dilepaskan atau dibebaskan di akhir kes pendakwaan ataupun dipanggil untuk membela diri" (discharged or acquitted at the close of the prosecution case, or instead called upon to enter a defence).

In the Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan) he acted as counsel for the appellant in a matter engaging the parol evidence rule under sections 91 and 92 of the Evidence Act 1950. Those sections limit the use of oral evidence to vary, add to or contradict the terms of a document relating to contracts, grants or dispositions of property mutually agreed by the parties. The court also addressed the argument that the mere absence of a First Information Report is not in itself a valid ground to dismiss a case or to prevent the police from acting.

Across these matters, Sivananthan a/l Nithyanantham's practice engages the elements of drug trafficking and the prima-facie-case threshold under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, together with the operation of the parol evidence rule under the Evidence Act 1950.