Public Prosecutor v Aishamudin bin Jamaludin and others

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Choo Han Teck J
• Judgment Date: 21 January 2019
• Neutral Citation: [2019] SGHC 8
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Docket Number: Criminal Case No 11 of 2018
• Year: 2019
• Published date: 01 May 2020
• Hearing Date: 13 September 2018,13 March 2018,18 September 2018,12 September 2018,14 March 2018,11 September 2018,19 September 2018,10 January 2019,14 September 2018,20 September 2018,16 March 2018,15 March 2018
• Plaintiff Counsel: Shahla Iqbal, Lim Jian Yi and Soh Weiqi (Attorney-General's Chambers)
• Defendant Counsel: Hassan Esa Almenoar (R. Ramason & Almenoar) and Diana Foo (Tan See Swan & Co),Mervyn Cheong Jun Ming (Advocatus Law LLP), Daniel Chia Hsiung Wen and Ker Yanguang (Morgan Lewis Stamford LLC),Singa Retnam (I.R.B. Law LLP), Terence Tan Li-Chern (Robertson Chambers LLC) and Subir Singh Grewal (Aequitas Law LLP)
• Subject Matter: Criminal Law,Statutory offences,Misuse of Drugs Act
• Citation: [2019] SGHC 8

Choo Han Teck J:

The three accused persons were jointly tried for offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed) (“MDA”). The first accused, Aishamudin Bin Jamaludin (“Aishamudin”) claimed trial to a charge of trafficking two packets containing not less than 32.54g of diamorphine, by delivering the packets to the third accused, Roszaidi Bin Osman (“Roszaidi”), in furtherance of a common intention with one Suhaizam Bin Khariri (“Suhaizam”), an offence under s 5(1)(a) of the MDA read with s 34 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed) (“Penal Code”). The second accused, Mohammad Azli Bin Mohammad Salleh (“Azli”), claimed trial to a charge of abetment by intentionally aiding Roszaidi to traffic two packets containing not less than 32.54g of diamorphine, by driving Roszaidi to collect and subsequently deliver the two packets, an offence under s 5(1)(a) read with s 12 of the MDA. Roszaidi claimed trial to a charge of trafficking two packets containing not less than 32.54g of diamorphine, by giving the two packets to one Azidah Binte Zainal (“Azidah”), an offence under s 5(1)(a) of the MDA. The offences for which all three accused persons were charged were punishable under s 33(1) or s 33B of the MDA.

Aishamudin and Suhaizam are both 34 year-old Malaysian nationals. They were colleagues in a Malaysian company, Tiong Nam, where they worked as lorry drivers. Roszaidi is a 47-year-old Singaporean. He is married to Azidah, a 32 year-old Singaporean. They were married since March 2015. Azli, a 26 year-old Singaporean, was a friend of Roszaidi’s. Prior to his arrest, Azli was doing freelance repair works for electronic equipment and audio-visual programming.

On the evening of 6 October 2015, officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (“CNB”) were deployed to Jurong West to look out for a lorry that was suspected to be involved in drug activities. CNB officers spotted the lorry and followed it as it made its way to Bulim Avenue. Aishamudin and Suhaizam were in this lorry. A car then entered Bulim Avenue and stopped along the road near the exit. This car was driven by Azli, with Roszaidi and another male, one Muhammad Mirwazy Bin Adam (“Mirwazy”), as passengers. Both the lorry and the car then left Bulim Avenue. The Prosecution accepts that Azli drove to Bulim Avenue on the instructions of Roszaidi.

CNB officers began following both vehicles, which led to a series of arrests of the accused persons in this trial and several others. They followed the car as it made its way to a taxi-stand at JCube mall where Mirwazy alighted. Mirwazy was subsequently arrested and other CNB officers continued to follow the car. The car later stopped along Jurong West Street 91. Azidah was waiting along the road with a yellow “Satin Skinz” paper bag. Roszaidi placed a “Starmart” plastic bag inside the yellow “Satin Skinz” paper bag that Azidah had brought down, and handed it back to her. He told her to bring it up to their apartment. At the time, Roszaidi and Azidah were residing at an apartment nearby. The car drove off and Azidah headed to the lift lobby of her apartment block. She was arrested while waiting for the lift by CNB officers, and the yellow “Satin Skinz” paper bag was seized.

Roszaidi alighted from Azli’s car, and shortly after Azidah’s arrest, Roszaidi was also arrested. Azli, the last person in the car, was arrested in a carpark a few minutes later, while he was still seated in the car.

On Azli’s arrest, the car was searched, and CNB recovered six packets of methamphetamine. Although these packets of methamphetamine are not the subject matter of this trial, the discovery of them in the car is of some relevance to the present charges. Of the six packets of methamphetamine seized, three were contained in a black pouch which was found on the floorboard in front of the driver’s seat, two were contained in a plastic bag which was found on the floorboard at the right of the driver’s seat, and one was found at the floorboard of the front passenger seat. A plastic pouch containing a digital weighing scale, empty pink envelopes, empty plastic packets and two glass utensils was also found in the car.

While the arrests of those who had been in the car was taking place, other CNB officers had followed the lorry. The lorry stopped at a cash-card top-up booth along Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim, where Suhaizam alighted. CNB officers then moved in and arrested Suhaizam near the cash-card top-up booth, and Aishamudin in the front passenger seat of the lorry.

The yellow “Satin Skinz” paper bag that Azidah was carrying when she was arrested contained the “Starmart” plastic bag that Roszaidi had placed inside the former paper bag. The “Starmart” plastic bag in turn contained two packets which contained no less than 32.54g of diamorphine. These were the subject matter of this trial. It is the Prosecution’s case that the two packets of diamorphine had been brought in from Malaysia to Singapore by Aishamudin and Suhaizam. The day before the arrests were made, Suhaizam was tasked to deliver cargo to Singapore. Aishamudin asked Suhaizam for a ride. Along the way, Aishamudin informed Suhaizam that he was delivering diamorphine to someone in Singapore, and promised Suhaizam a reward for helping him out. Together, they made their way to Bulim Avenue, where they met with the car carrying Azli and Roszaidi. Aishamudin passed a plastic bag containing the two packets of diamorphine to Roszaidi at Bulim Avenue. Thereafter, Azli drove Roszaidi to Jurong West Street 91. Along the way, Roszaidi repacked the two packets of diamorphine from the red plastic bag to the “Starmart” plastic bag. At Jurong West Street 91, Roszaidi passed the “Starmart” plastic bag containing the two packets of diamorphine to Azidah. Azli’s role is one of an abettor by intentionally aiding, as he aided Roszaidi’s delivery of the drugs to Azidah by driving him to the collection point (Bulim Avenue), and from there to the delivery point (Jurong West Street 91). The Prosecution relies on the presumption in s 18(2) of the MDA to establish that all three accused persons knew that the two packets contained diamorphine. Section 18(2) provides as follows: (2) Any person who is proved or presumed to have had a controlled drug in his possession shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to have known the nature of that drug.

Suhaizam and Azidah are not involved in this trial as they have been dealt with in separate proceedings. Suhaizam pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking diamorphine, in furtherance of the common intention with Aishamudin, by delivering the two packets identified above to Roszaidi at Bulim Avenue. The charge reflected that the amount of diamorphine contained in the two packets identified above was not less than 14.99g. Suhaizam also agreed to have a charge of trafficking not less than 249.67g of methamphetamine taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing. He was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane, and his subsequent appeal against sentence was dismissed.

Azidah also pleaded guilty to a similarly reduced charge for trafficking not less than 14.99g of diamorphine. She also pleaded guilty to a further charge of consuming methamphetamine, and agreed to have a charge of trafficking...