Nik Hashim FCJ:

The respondent was charged for trafficking in dangerous drugs weighing 74.9 grammes of a mixture of heroin and monoacetylmorphines, an offence under s. 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 ("the Act") punishable under s. 39B(2) of the Act. He was found guilty by the learned High Court Judge (Abdul Wahab bin Patail, J) and was sentenced to death. On appeal against the conviction and sentence the Court of Appeal (Mokhtar bin Hj Sidin, Denis Ong Jiew Fook and KC Vohrah JJCA) allowed the appeal and reduced the charge to possession under s. 12(2) of the Act punishable under s. 39A(2)(d) of the Act and substituted the sentence to 15 years imprisonment to run from the respondent's date of arrest on 11 August 1997 and with minimum whipping of ten strokes. Dissatisfied with the reduction of the charge, the Public Prosecutor has now appealed to this court.

The facts of the case are that on 11 August 1997 at about 8.30pm Insp. Shaiful (SP2) together with a team of police personnel, acting on information, had taken position around the parking area at Campagna Condominium, Meadow Park 2 Jalan 1/130, Happy Garden Kuala Lumpur. At about 9pm they saw a Kancil car with