Gopal Sri Ram JCA:

[1] This is the judgment of the court.

[2] This is an appeal directed against the order of the High Court Johor Bahru convicting the appellant of an offence of possession under s. 39A(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 ("the Act') and sentencing him to a period of 16 years imprisonment and the statutory minimum of ten strokes of the rattan. The accused was originally charged for the offence of trafficking under s. 39B of the Act. At the close of the prosecution's case the learned trial judge amended the charge to one under s. 39A(2) of the Act and called on the appellant to make his defence to the amended charge. The appellant gave evidence and at the close of the whole case was found guilty and convicted and the orders already adverted to were passed upon him.

[3] The appellant has appealed against sentence only. Learned counsel appearing for him argued that the sentence is manifestly excessive taking into account the totality of the facts and circumstances of this case.

[4] Now, the quantity of drugs involved in this case is 379.36 grammes of cannabis. This, as pointed out by the learned deputy, is 7 1/2 times the statutory trigger prescribed by s. 39A