Lim Eng Peng v Public Prosecutor

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Salina Bte Ishak
• Judgment Date: 29 May 2001
• Neutral Citation: [2001] SGDC 169
• Year: 2001
• Published date: 19 September 2003
• Citation: [2001] SGDC 169
• Court: District Court (Singapore)

JUDGMENT:

Grounds of Decision

The Charge

1. The accused, Lim Eng Peng faced 1 charge of consumption of a controlled drug specified in Class B of the First Schedule of the Misuse of Drugs Act, Cap 185, ketamine, without authorisation under section 8(b) and punishable under section 33 of the said Act. She claimed trial to the said charge as set out below:

"Exhibit P 1"

DAC 057714-2000

1^st Charge

You,

Lim Eng Peng, female/26 years

NRIC No: S 7432783D

are charged that you, on or about the 16^th day of December 2000, did consume a controlled drug specified in Class B of the First Schedule of the Misuse of Drugs Act cap 185, to wit, Ketamine, without authorisation under the said Act or Regulations made thereunder and you have thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 33 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, Cap 185.

AND FURTHER

that you, before committing of the said offence, that is to say, on 27-5-97, had been convicted by Court 23 of the Subordinate Courts of Singapore, of an offence under section 8(b) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, Chapter 185, which conviction has not been set aside, and that you are thereby liable to enhanced punishment under section 33(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, Chapter 185.

2. At the end of the trial, I found her guilty of the said charge and convicted her accordingly. In respect of DAC 057714-2000, I sentenced her to a term of imprisonment of 3 years, which is the minimum sentence in respect of a second or subsequent conviction. She is dissatisfied with the conviction and is now appealing against my decision. Before setting out my reasons, I will first set out the facts of the case below.

Case for the Prosecution

Agreed Facts

3. The Complainant is ASP(CNB) Ong Pang Thong attached to the Intelligence Division, central Narcotic Bureau.

4. The Accused is one Lim Eng Peng, female 26 years old, NRIC No: 7432783-D of Blk 242, Bukit Panjang Ring Road, #03-163. She is a public relations officer (PRO).

5. On 16^th December 2000 at about 12.35 am at De Grande Cognac, 5 Koek Road, #B2-01, Cuppage Plaza, the accused was arrested for consumption of a controlled drug.

6. On the same day, the Accused provided two bottles of her urine specimen, marked and sealed in her presence as C-SE-00-00938 and C-SE-00-00938-2. It was referred to the Department of Scientific Services for analysis. It was subsequently found to contain ketamine, which is a Class B Controlled Drug listed in the First Schedule to the Misuse of Drugs Act, Cap 185.

7. The accused was convicted on 27^th May 1997 in Court 23 of the Subordinate Courts at Singapore, of an offence under Section 8(b) of the Misuse of rugs Act and thereby liable to enhanced punishment under section 33(3) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, cap 185.

8. In addition to the above agreed facts, it was also not disputed that as a result of the checks conducted by the CNB, 12 persons including the Accused person, were arrested on suspicion of having consumed controlled drugs. Two out of the 12 persons arrested were found in possession of ketamine while a third person was found in possession of 14 pink coloured tablets, believed to be controlled drugs, in a small container.

9. At the close of prosecution case, after a careful consideration of the prosecutions evidence, I found that the prosecution had made out a prima facie case against the Accused person in respect of the said charge. Accordingly, I called upon the Accused person to give her defence in respect of the charge. The Accused person elected to give her defence in the witness box.

Case for the Defence

10. The Accused person is one Lim Eng Peng residing at Blk 242, Bukit Panjang Ring Road,#03-163. She is currently unemployed. On 16^th December 2000, the Accused person was working at De Grande Cognac, a KTV lounge at Cuppage Plaza. She was working as a public relations officer (PRO). She started working at the De Grande Cognac on 14^th August 2000. She started work between 9.45 pm to 10.00 pm and would finish work at 3.00 am the following day. She worked 6 days a week from Mondays to Saturdays at the said lounge.

11. When she worked at the De Grande Cognac, there were 20 hostesses working at the said KTV lounge. The Accused persons duties were to entertain and serve customers with liquor at the lounge. She was expected to drink as well as to chit-chat with the customers. She was paid a sum of $500 fortnightly excluding commissions she obtained from the sale of liquor. She testified that there were 13 KTV rooms in the said lounge. Each room was a cubicle with its own door. A "Mummy" was in charge of the public relation officers. There were a total of 4 mummies at the De Grande Cognac. Any one of the mummies could instruct the PROs to go to any one of the 13 rooms to serve and entertain customers. The Accused person was under the charge of a Mummy known as Vivian.

12. On 15^th December 2000, the Accused had reported for work at 9.45 pm at the De Grande Cognac. Soon after she had started work, her own Mummy, Vivian instructed the Accused person, to serve 3 customers at Room 1. Together with 2 other PROs, they went to the said room, introduced themselves and attended to the customers. After about an hour in Room 1, another Mummy, Cat, summoned the Accused. The Accused person left Room 1 and went to the counter. Mummy Cat directed her to attend to 4 or 5 customers who were already in Room 13. After the usual introductions, the Accused person proceeded to drink with the said customers. She testified that she had to "drink whatever was poured by the customers into her glass". She was in Room 13 for about 15 minutes when Mummy Vivian summoned the Accused person and told her to go to Room 11 Not long after, Mummy Cat summoned the Accused person and instructed the Accused person to return to Room 13. At Room 13, the Accused person testified that she had some drinks. Shortly after, she left Room 13 to...