Mohd Ghazali JCA (delivering judgment of the court)::

[1] The appellant was charged with an offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs, namely, 527.5g of cannabis under s 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (‘the Act’) in the High Court, Kota Bharu. He was convicted and sentenced to death. He appealed to this court. We had on 11 March 2008 dismissed the appeal and our grounds for doing so follows.

[2] The prosecution’s case is as follows. At about 5.10pm on 18 October 2001, Lance Corporal Abdul Halim (‘SP4 ’) and Lance Corporal Ahmad Khairudin (‘SP5 ’), who were on duty at a police post situated at a jetty named Pengkalan Haram Ibrahim Pencen, Rantau Panjang, Kelantan alongside the Golok River (‘the said jetty’), spotted the appellant boarding a boat on the opposite side of the river, ie, on the Thailand side of the river. The appellant then crossed the river and alighted at the said jetty. SP4 and SP5 stopped the appellant, identified themselves and requested for his identity card. Whilst SP4 was searching his person, the appellant attempted to run away and was arrested. The appellant then took out several transparent plastic packets containing plant material from the inside of his trousers. SP4 asked the appellant to place the transparent plastic packets back in the inside of his trousers and together with SP5 brought the appellant to another police post identified as ‘Tek A’.

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[3] At Tek A, SP4 requested the appellant to take off his shirt and trousers. 84 transparent plastic packets containing plant material were found on the person of the appellant. Subsequently SP4 and SP5 brought the appellant together with the 84 transparent plastic packets containing plant material to the Pasir Mas police station and handed the same to Inspector Goldy Jangan (‘SP6 ’). The appellant was later charged for the offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs under s 39B(1)(a) of the Act.

[4] In the course of the trial, SP3, the chemist who conducted an analysis of the plant material found in the 84 transparent plastic packets confirmed that the same was cannabis as defined under s 2 of the Act having a total net weight of 527.5g.

[5] At the close of the case for the prosecution, the learned trial judge found that a prima facie case had been made out against the appellant on the offence charged and consequently called upon him to enter on his defence.

[6] The appellant elected to give evidence on oath. He testified that he was originally from Kg Sri Tanjung, Pancur, Muar, Johor and worked as a fisherman. He travelled by bus from Muar at 8.30pm on 17 October 2001 and reached Rantau Panjang at 6am on 18 October 2001, ie, the day of the incident. At about 7.30am on the day of the incident, he and a few of his friends made a trip to the town of Golok in Thailand by crossing the Golok River by boat from the said jetty. Later in the day he returned to the said jetty by crossing the Golok River by boat from Thailand. Upon embarking at the said jetty he went to a stall alongside the river and stopped for a drink. He was there for about half an hour. He then went to a friend’s house and whilst chatting with the owner of the house, two persons who identified themselves as ‘Narkotik’ searched his person and found a plastic packet of cannabis in the front pocket of his trousers. He was then brought in a police land-rover to a police post where he was asked to undress. The police found more plastic packets containing cannabis on his person. They then put all the plastic packets in a bag and brought him and the bag to the Pasir Mas police station.

[7] The appellant further testified that he bought the said plastic packets containing cannabis in the town of Golok for RM200 and claimed that it was for his own consumption. He himself had placed the plastic packets containing the cannabis in the inside of his trousers. He said that he was addicted to cannabis since 1964 and that with RM200 worth of cannabis, it would last him for two mo

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