JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

1. The appellant, a Nigerian national was charged for an offence of trafficking 686.3 grams of heroin. She was convicted of an offence under section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 ("the Act") and sentenced to the mandatory death sentence. She appealed. We heard her appeal on September 8, 2004 and dismissed it. Our reasons now follow.

2. The appellant and another person boarded a taxi at Haadyai in Thailand. They were headed for Penang. There were two other passengers on board. When the taxi arrived at the Malaysian Immigration and Customs Check Point at Bukit Kayu Hitam all passengers alighted. Their passports were examined. There was nothing suspicious about them. At that point, PW 4, a Customs Officer asked the appellant to remove her slippers. Obviously his suspicions were aroused when he found them fairly heavy. the slippers were probed with a needle and traces of a white powdery substance were found. The slippers were then split open and from them were recovered a total of 6 packets of a white powdery substance. The appellant was searched. 5 more packets of a white powdery substance were found around her waist. the appellant and her companion were ar