The accused in this case was charged with being in possession of 3.9 grammes of heroin and 33.2 grammes of monoacetyl-morphines under s. 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under s. 39A(2) of the same Act. On 6 June 2000 he pleaded guilty to the charge. The learned Sessions Court judge convicted the accused and imposed a sentence of 12 years imprisonment and 10 strokes of the rotan. This appeal is by the accused against the sentence imposed.

The facts of the case outlined by the prosecution revealed that on 6 August 1999 the complainant Inspector Haslah bt Bachok together with a police party raided premises number Lot 626, Batu 5, Jalan Gombak. The police searched the premises in the presence of the accused and recovered a blue bag. The bag contained several packets suspected to contain dangerous drugs. The accused admitted that the packets belonged to him. The packets were later sent to the chemist for analysis who confirmed that it contained dangerous drugs as specified in the charge. The accused admitted the facts and the learned Sessions Court judge accepted the guilty plea. In his plea in mitigation the accused prayed for leniency. He said t