The appellate court confirmed that the prosecution established the Appellant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for cultivating and possessing cannabis, rejecting the defense as a bare denial without raising reasonable doubt.

Introduction

[1] This grounds of judgment has been prepared in respect of an appeal from the decision of this Court on 7 March 2025 by the Appellant, Ahmad Faridz Bin Mohd Fadzil, that upheld the convictions and sentences passed by the Taiping Sessions Court on 28 June 2024 for 3 offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 [Act 234] ("the Act"). The Notice of Appeal was filed on 11 March 2024 by the Prison Department on his behalf against conviction and sentence.

[2] The charges were as follows:

Pertuduhan Pertama

Bahawa kamu pada 13 April 2022 jam lebih kurang 1545 hrs di alamat rumah Lot.1417 Taman Menteri, 34850 Changkat Jering, dalam Daerah Taiping di dalam Negeri Perak telah bagi pihak diri kamu menanam tumbuhan jenis cannabis dari mana cannabis boleh diperolehi secara langsung dan dengan itu kamu telah melakukan kesalahan dibawah s 6B(1)(a) Akta Dadah Berbahaya 1952 dan boleh dihukum dibawah s 6B(3) Akta yang sama.

Hukuman dibawah s 6B (3) Akta Dadah Berbahaya 1952 jika disabitkan kesalahan hendaklah dipenjara seumur hidup dan disebat tidak kurang daripada enam sebatan

Pertuduhan Pindaan Kedua

Bahawa kamu pada 13 April 2022 jam lebih kurang 1545 hrs di alamat rumah Lot.1417 Taman Menteri, 34850 Changkat Jering, dalam Daerah Taiping di dalam Negeri Perak telah ada dalam kawalan kamu 13.77gram dadah berbahaya jenis cannabis. Oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan suatu kesalahan di bawah s 6 Akta Dadah Berbahaya 1952 dan boleh dihukum di bawah Akta yang sama.

Hukuman di bawah Akta ini jika disabitkan kesalahan boleh dikenakan denda tidak lebih daripada dua puluh ribu ringgit atau dikenakan hukuman penjara selama tempoh tidak lebih daripada lima tahun penjara atau kedua-duanya sekali.

Pertuduhan Tambahan

Bahawa kamu pada 13 April 2022 jam lebih kurang 1545 hrs di alamat rumah Lot.1417 Taman Menteri, 34850 Changkat Jering, dalam Daerah Taiping di dalam Negeri Perak telah ada dalam kawalan kamu 0.98gram biji-biji tumbuhan jenis cannabis dimana cannabis boleh diperolehi. Oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan suatu kesalahan di bawah s 6 Akta Dadah Berbahaya 1952 dan boleh dihukum di bawah Akta yang sama.

Hukuman Denda boleh sampai RM20,000.00 atau penjara sampai 5 tahun atau kedua-duanya sekali.

[3] For the first charge of cultivating cannabis plant, the Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment of 30 years from the date of arrest 13 April 2022 and 6 strokes of the rotan. He was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment from the date of arrest in regard to the charge of cannabis possession and another 2 years imprisonment for the additional charge of possession of cannabis seeds. All sentences were ordered to run concurrently from the date of arrest.

[4] For the record, since he was charged on 22 February 2022, the Appellant was granted numerous postponements to enable him to appoint counsel 40 to represent him due to the gravity of the offence. Trial was fixed on 17-20 January 2023. On 17 January 2023, he told the Court that he was a