(Oral)

Gopal Sri Ram JCA:

This is the judgment of the court

The appellant before us was convicted for the offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs. He was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty prescribed by the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 ("the Act").

At the outset we should mention that the drug concerned is cannabis weighing about 133kgs. The importance of the weight will become apparent later in this judgment. But we must first hearken to the facts.

PW15 is a lance corporal in the police force. On 17 January 1997 at about 4pm he received instructions from his superior, Inspector Mohan, to carry out surveillance on a male Malay who was using car registration number WED 577 at Kampong Chubadak, Sentul Pasar, Kuala Lumpur. It would appear that Inspector Mohan did not play any other role in the matter and it therefore comes as no surprise that he was not called by the prosecution.

Acting upon the instructions to which we have referred, PW15 proceed to the area in question and commenced his surveillance. At about 4.30pm on 17 January 1997 PW 15 saw the target vehicle being driven by a male Malay who was later identified as the appellant. PW15 then followed the target vehicl