Appeals Court Upholds 30-year Jail Sentence For Trio In Ketamine Trafficking Case

PUTRAJAYA, May 21 (Bernama) -- The Court of Appeal here today upheld the 30 years’ jail sentence imposed on three men convicted of trafficking in 4,030.7 grammes of ketamine.

The three-judge panel led by Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, together with Justices Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid and Dean Wayne Daly, unanimously dismissed the appeals brought by Ha How Kok, Hwong Nai Chong and Yeap Hock Guan against both their convictions and sentences.

The court also upheld 12 strokes of the cane imposed on Ha and Hwong. Yeap was exempted from caning sentence as he was over 50 years old.

In delivering the decision, Justice Noorin said the conduct of the appellants before, during and after their arrest constituted compelling circumstances evidences of guilty knowledge and common intention.

She said the trial judge had correctly found that the act of transferring and carrying the dangerous drug fell within the statutory definition of trafficking under Section 2 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1982.

Justice Noorin said the evidence was not limited to mere passive possession, adding that the coordinated transfer of a substantial quantity of ketamine, namely 4,030.7 grammes clearly supported the inference of trafficking activity.

“We find that the prosecution had adduced sufficient direct evidence establishing actual possession, custody and trafficking activities involving all the three appellants. No prejudice had been occasioned to the defence,” she said.

On Jan 17, last year, the High Court had found the trio guilty of trafficking the drugs and sentenced each of them to 30 years in prison to take effect from June 23, 2020, the date of their arrest.

Ha, 27 and Hwong, 30, were also sentenced to 12 strokes of the cane, while Yeap, 52, was spared caning due to his age. The offence took place at a roadside along Jalan Kenari, in front of a restaurant in Bandar Puchong Jaya, Selangor at 3.40 pm on June 23, 2020.

Based on the facts of the case, acting on information, a police team conducted surveillance at the location. During the operation, the raiding officer saw a car stopping in front of a restaurant and saw two men —later identified as the first and second accused — approached the vehicle driven by the third accused.

The raiding officer saw the third accused hand over a bag to the first accused before instructing the police team to block the movement of the car. 

During the interception, the third accused allegedly attempted to flee by reversing the car. At the same time, the raiding officer approached the first and second accused and identified himself as a police officer. The first accused then dropped the bag and fled together with the second accused, but both men were later apprehended.

The third accused was then ordered to exit the vehicle. The raiding officer subsequently inspected the bag and discovered two plastic packages containing transparent plastic packets suspected to be ketamine drugs.

At the proceeding, lawyer Jasmine Cheong represented Ha, Counsel Joseph Tan acted for Hwong and Counsel S.Jayananda Rao for Yeap. Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari appeared for the prosecution.

-- BERNAMA