Jeffrey Tan JC:

[1] The accused was charged for an offence punishable under s 3 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971. The charge read as follows:

Bahawa kamu pada 18 Ogos 1992, jam lebih kurang 3.30 petang, di kedai Tai Loong Diamond & Jewellary, di NO 90, Lebuh Pitt, di dalam Daerah Timur Laut, di dalam Negeri Pulau Pinang, telah melakukan rompakan di kedai berkenaan, dan semasa melakukan rompakan itu, kamu telah melepaskan tembakan senjatapi ke arah Kons 89541 Mohd Tahir Mohd Shah dan Kons 109196 Mohd Yusof Ismail, dengan niat menyebabkan kecederaan atau kematian, dengan demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan di bawah s 3, Akta Senjatapi (Penalti Lebih Berat) tahun 1971 (Akta 37) yang boleh dihukum di bawah Seksyen yang sama Akta tersebut.

[2] The testimony of 19 prosecution witnesses may be summarised as follows.

[3] At about 3 pm to 3.15 pm on 18 August 1992, SP1 and his brother (SP15, the complainant) were attending to 2 clients at their goldsmith shop, Tai Loong Diamond and Jewellery of 90 Pitt Street, Georgetown. They saw the accused parking a motor-cycle outside their shop. The complainant opened the front door of their shop for the accused. The accused entered the complainant's shop and was attended to by SP1. The accused asked and was shown certain gold ornaments. Having inspected those ornaments, the accused asked and was shown further ornaments. Not long thereafter, the complainant's other 2 clients left the shop. The accused then whipped out a gun and declared he was staging a hold-up. The accused demanded the gold ornaments displayed in the counter, and SP1 removed two trays containing gold ornaments from the display counter and handed it to the accused. The accused emptied the gold ornaments into a plastic bag, and proceeded to walk out of the shop. Failing to open the front door, the accused then flashed his gun at the complainant and demanded that the door be opened for him. The complainant opened the front door, and the accused with a gun in his right hand and a bag of gold in the other (SP1 however said the accused had pocketed the bag) then walked out of the shop. As soon as the accused had stepped out of the shop, the complainant and SP1 saw the accused firing his gun in the direction of the adjoining shops on the right, that is the shops with numbers 92 and onwards. Huddling behind the display counter, both complainant and SP1 said they heard several rounds of gunfire, and saw, from the mirrors on the walls, the accused discharging his gun. They said the accused's gun was similar to those used by the Royal Malaysian Police.

[4] At about that time two police constables, SP9 and SP12, were patrolling in the vicinity. SP9 has just signed the police visitation book at 94 Pitt Street, the business premises of a neighbouring goldsmith 2 doors away from the complainant's shop, when a security guard (Sebastian Santharan) employed by the goldsmiths in the area (including the complainant), came inside shop 94 and informed them that a robbery was taking place in the complainant's shop. The constables proceeded immediately to investigate. The front door of the complainant's shop was made of glass, and the constables saw the accused behind the front door with a gun in his right hand. The accused got out of the complainant's shop and started shooting at the constables with a firearm. The constables returned the accused's gunfire. SP12, covered by SP9, then dashed to a large flower pot standing in front of the complainant's shop. A further exchange of gunfire ensued between the constables and the accused. The accused who was hiding behind the shop front pillars then got onto a motorcycle parked outside the complainant's shop and sped off in the direction of Chulia Street, with SP9 and SP12 on foot in vain pursuit, but discharging nonetheless gunshots at the fleeing accused.

[5] In the subsequent police investigation, the police officer then in charge of the investigation (SP18) recovered 2 bullet slugs