Possession of drugs entails knowledge inferred from physical control and surrounding circumstances, triggering presumption of trafficking under the Dangerous Drugs Act.

Introduction

[1] The appellant was charged in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur for an offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs, to wit 49,621.8 grams of methamphetamine, an offence under s 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and punishable under s 39B(2) of the same Act (' DDA '). The charge reads as follows:

"Bahawa kamu pada 5 April 2011, jam lebih kurang 5.30 petang di alamat No 45-2-6, The Forum, Jalan Inai di dalam daerah Dang Wangi, di dalam Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, telah mengedar dadah berbahaya iaitu 49,621.8gram methamphetamine. Oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan suatu kesalahan di bawah s 39B(1)(a) Akta Dadah Berbahaya 1952 dan boleh dihukum di bawah s 39B(2) Akta yang sama."

[2] On 1 February 2014, the High Court found the appellant guilty of the offence as charged. He was convicted and sentenced to death. On 22 September 2015, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant's appeal and affirmed the conviction and sentence imposed by the High Court. On further appeal, this Court dismissed the appellant's appeal. We now give our reasons.