Raja Azlan Shah CJ (Malaya) (delivering the judgment of the Court):

The two appellants were jointly charged, tried and convicted on 22 June 1979 in the High Court in Malaya at Penang on the following charge:

That you jointly on 24 March 1978 at about 8.50pm at the car park of Central Hotel, Penang Road, in the District of George Town, in the State of Penang, in furtherance of the common intention of you all, did on your own behalf, traffic in dangerous drugs, to wit, heroin weighing 1,550.1g and you have thereby committed an offence under s. 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance No. 30 of 1952 punishable under s. 39B(2) of the same Ordinance read with s. 34 of the Penal Code.

The first appellant Loh Hock Seng was then sentenced to imprisonment for life and seven strokes of whipping and the second appellant Hong Hoo Chong to imprisonment for life and 14 strokes of whipping. They both appealed to this Court against conviction and the Public Prosecutor cross-appealed against the sentence imposed.

The appeal was heard before us on 5 December 1979. Counsel appearing for the appellants indicated at the outset that he had yet to obtain instructions from the first appellan