SIBU: The High Court here on Thursday (Aug 21) ordered an unemployed man to enter his defence on a drug trafficking charge after the prosecution successfully established a prima facie case against him.
Wong Kieng Li, 32, was charged with trafficking 717.67 grammes of methamphetamine in a car parked by the roadside at Jalan Oya on December 12, 2023, at about 5:00 pm.
The offence falls under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and is punishable under subsection 39B(2) of the same Act.
Upon conviction, the Act provides for the death penalty or life imprisonment, and if not sentenced to death, the offender shall also be given not less than 12 strokes of the cane.
Delivering his ruling at the end of the prosecution’s case, High Court Judge Wong Siong Tung said the prosecution had produced credible evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie case against the accused.
He noted that the evidence showed the accused had custody of the drugs, thereby triggering the presumption under Section 37(d) of the Act that he was in possession of, and knew the nature of, the drugs.
“The evidence further establishes that he was trafficking in them at the material time. Accordingly, pursuant to Section 180 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Court calls upon the accused to enter his defence,” Judge Wong ruled.
He reminded Wong that he has three options: to give evidence under oath from the witness box and be cross-examined, to make an unsworn statement from the dock, or to remain silent.
“Whatever option the accused chooses, he is at liberty to call witnesses in his defence. However, if he elects to remain silent and calls no witnesses, the court will proceed to convict him as a prima facie case has already been established,” the judge said.
Defence counsel Daren Ling informed the court that Wong opted to testify under oath and that, at this stage, the defence intended to call the accused himself along with his mother as a witness, if necessary.
He requested two days for the defence trial.
The trial has been fixed for September 25 and 26.
Earlier, at the close of the prosecution’s case, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Mark Kenneth Netto submitted that the prosecution had proven a prima facie case.
He argued that the chain of evidence remained intact from the time the box containing the drugs was seized until it was analysed by the chemist, who confirmed the crystalline substance was methamphetamine weighing 717.67 grams.
Mark said the accused had collected the box, filled in the recipient details, signed off for it, and transported it in his car for about an hour.
“In that time, the accused attempted to open the box in the absence of ‘Bimau’ (the person who allegedly instructed him to collect it). Therefore, there is evidence of actual trafficking on the accused’s part,” he submitted.
He added that the prosecution had proven all the essential ingredients of the trafficking charge and successfully rebutted possible defences raised by the accused.
