Appellant acquitted of drug trafficking, freed from correctional centre
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PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today overturned a school dropout’s conviction for trafficking 3.2kg of methamphetamine as a teenager five years ago, and freed him from a correctional facility where he was serving his sentence.
A three-member bench chaired by Justice Che Ruzima Ghazali said the appellant, who was 15 years old at the time of the alleged offence, had successfully raised a reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case at trial.
“He had put his defence at the prosecution stage, which was not an afterthought,” Che Ruzima said when allowing the teenager’s appeal against conviction.
The judge, however, said the High Court was correct to order the appellant to enter his defence as the prosecution had proved a prima facie case.
“There was direct trafficking under Section 2 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and a presumption arose that the accused had to rebut, which he succeeded in doing,” he said.
Also on the panel hearing the appeal were Justices Azman Abdullah and Zaini Mazlan.
Che Ruzima said the appellant, now 20, had on the balance of probabilities successfully rebutted the presumption through his own evidence and the testimony of two other defence witnesses, all given under oath.
The appellant was accused of committing the offence on Oct 24, 2019 at about 9.20pm at a lane of Jalan Imbi, Kuala Lumpur.
The High Court found him guilty in 2022 but ordered that he be detained at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong pursuant to Section 97 the Child Act 2001.
He was placed at a correctional centre in Selangor as he was below 21 years of age.
Earlier today, deputy public prosecutor Fairuz Johari told the appeals court that a raid was conducted following a tip-off from a member of the public.
He said the police observed the appellant for about 10 minutes. He was carrying a plastic bag containing the drugs when arrested.
Defence lawyer Naizatul Zamrina Karizaman said her client was only momentarily in possession of the bag, and had no knowledge of its contents.
“The appellant was instructed by his uncle to deliver the bag to a man who was waiting across the road when he was arrested by police,” said Naizatul, who was assisted by Wan Zaleha Abdul Wahab.
Naizatul said the uncle was a defence witness at trial.
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