Mohd. Azmi SCJ:

The appellant was convicted by Mustapha J at the High Court Kangar for trafficking in 15,603 grammes of raw opium in contravention of s. 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Revised 1980) and sentenced to death under s. 39B(2) of the same Act. His appeal to the Court is against both conviction and sentence, but during argument the only point raised is whether the trial Judge had erred in law in entertaining the application under s. 425 Criminal Procedure Code of the Deputy Public Prosecutor during the course of the prosecution case, to send nine exhibits found in the possession of the appellant and marked as Exhibits P7 to P15 to the Chemistry Department for further examination and the calling of fresh evidence on the said exhibits.

The main issue for determination is the scope of the provision of s. 425 CPC which provides:

Any Court may at any stage of any inquiry, trial or other proceeding under this Code summon any person as a witness, or examine any person in attendance though not summoned as a witness, or recall and re-examine any person already examined, and the Court shall summon and examine or recall and re-examine any such person if his evide