JOHOR BARU: A 53-year-old contractor was acquitted by the High Court here from three charges of distributing drugs five years ago.
The accused, Wong Shee Kay, was freed from the charge of distributing 84g of heroin, 1.7kg methamphetamine, and 116g monoacetylmorphine.
High Court Judge Abu Bakar Katar made the decision after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the accused.
In his judgement, the prosecution failed to prove that Wong had any control or power over the drugs found inside a vehicle with the registration number JQJ 3692.
The fact that the accused had the car key is not enough to determine the ownership of the drugs without any other information, he added.
“The prosecution had failed to call up the owner of the car to cover the information with regards to the access to the vehicle.
“This court sees that, as the ownership of the drugs has failed to be proven, the charges under Section 37(d) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 cannot be activated,” he said.
Thus, the accused is then acquitted and discharged from all of the charges without being called to enter his defence, said Judge Abu Bakar.
According to the charge sheets, Wong, who works as a furniture and renovation contractor, had distributed drugs, namely heroin, methamphetamine, and monoacetylmorphine, from inside a Perodua Kembara.
The offence was allegedly committed in front of a shop in Jalan Permatang 8, Taman Desa Ulu Cemerlang, Ulu Tiram, at 6.30pm on Oct 31, 2018.
The act is an offence under Section 39B(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act.
Six witnesses had been called up to testify throughout the proceedings of the case.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Syafiq Mohd Ghazali, while the accused was represented by Mohd Daud Ismail and Hang Lee Ying.
