Abdul Hamid Omar LP:

Cohen Lorraine Philis and Cohen Aaron Shelton were appellants in SCCA No. 67 of 1987 appealing against their conviction and sentence. The Public Prosecutor was the appellant in SCCA No. 66 of 1987 in respect of the conviction and sentence of Cohen Shelton on a reduced charge under s. 39A ofDangerous Drugs Act 1952 (the Act).

Cohen Lorraine Philis and Cohen Aaron Shelton were charged under s. 39B(2)(a) of the Act before the learned Judge of High Court in Pulau Pinang for possession of dangerous drugs, to wit 140.76 grams and 34.61 grams, of heroin respectively on 19 February 1985 at the Singapore Airlines counter, International Airport, Bayan Lepas in the state of Pulau Pinang. Hearing commenced on 10 August 1987 and on 1 September 1987 Cohen Lorraine Philis was found guilty of the charge and was sentenced to death by hanging. On the same day Cohen Aaron Shelton was found guilty on amended reduced charge under s. 39A of the Act and was sentenced to life imprisonment from date of arrest and six strokes of the rotan.

The prosecution evidence was straight forward. An officer attached to the Cawangan Anti-Dadah at the International Airport (PW1) had information that two Caucasians, a male and a female, were carrying drugs. PW1 then went to the check-in counter of the Singapore Airlines and saw both appellants in Criminal Appeal No. 67 of 1987 lining up to check in. PW1 identified himself as a police officer by displaying his authority card and asked for their passports and travel documents. PW1 then took them to the inspection room. A search was made on both the appellants separately. A female constable from the security unit of the International Airport (PW2) made a search on the female Causasian. As a result of the examination drugs wrapped in plastic packets were found in the underpants of both the appellants in Criminal Appeal No. 67 of 1987.

In their defence both the appellants read their written statements from the dock. Cohen Lorraine Philis was the mother of Cohen Aaron Shelton. Both stated they were drug addicts and that the drugs were for their own consumption.

In respect of Cohen Lorraine Philis she stated that at the time of her arrest she needed 4 to 8 grams per day of heroin. The street value of heroin in Pulau Pinang then (in 1985) was RM12 per gram. She came to Pulau Pinang after receiving an inheritance of approximately NZ$10,000 at the end of 1984. She said that what she had when arrested was intended for her own personal consumption.

She also said that she came to Pulau Pinang as a result of a domestic quarrel with her de facto husband who physically assaulted her in a serious way. She was frightened and decided to come to Pulau Pinang with her son, Cohen Aaron Shelton. The rest of the statement dealt with the unfortunate incidents with her de facto husband.

In his statement Cohen Aaron Shelton also admitted that he began smoking heroin at the age of 15 years. He also related the unhappy incidents between his mother and her de facto husband in Australia. According to him when they came to Penang in December 1984 he began to use heroin regularly and his addiction grew because heroin was cheap and readily available in Pulau Pinang and his daily use increased accordingly. Within 48 hours of his arrest he began to suffer withdrawal from heroin and was taken to Penang General Hospital.

Medical evidence was also adduced to support the defence of Cohen Lorraine Philis. The medical evidence were from one Dr. Fraser McDonald (DW3), a psychiatrist attached to the Carrington Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand who recognised Cohen Lorraine Philis as a patient at a drug clinic in Auckland. According to DW3, Cohen Lorraine Philis was heavily addicted. Medical evidence were also obtained from one Dr. Stella Yvette Dalton (DW4). DW4's experience included acting as consultant psychiatrist in the heroin maintenance clinics in London hospitals. In 1968 DW4 became director of addiction services for Depart