Public Prosecutor v Chum Tat Suan

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Choo Han Teck J
• Judgment Date: 05 August 2013
• Neutral Citation: [2013] SGHC 150
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Docket Number: Criminal Case No 1 of 2012
• Year: 2013
• Published date: 11 November 2013
• Hearing Date: 20 June 2013,14 May 2013,10 May 2013,08 May 2013,13 May 2013,15 May 2013,09 May 2013
• Plaintiff Counsel: Mohamed Faizal and Qiu Huixiang (Attorney-General's Chambers)
• Defendant Counsel: Nandwani Manoj Prakash and Eric Liew (Gabriel Law Corporation)
• Subject Matter: Criminal Law,Misuse of Drugs Act,Elements of crime,Mens rea
• Citation: [2013] SGHC 150

Choo Han Teck J:

The accused was charged with importing not less than 94.96g of diamorphine into Singapore, thereby committing an offence under s 7 and punishable under s 33 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed). He is a 65 year old Singaporean who described his occupation as a “bookie” and a vendor of amulets. On 15 January 2010, he left Johor Bahru and crossed the immigration checkpoint at the Woodlands checkpoint, Singapore at 2.10am. He was the sole passenger in a taxi bearing the licence plate JHN 9218. W/Sgt Mehrunnisha Bte Hassan (“PW27”) who conducted a routine check spotted a black bag in the boot of the taxi and directed the driver to pull over for a more thorough check. When PW27 asked the taxi driver whose bag that was, the accused answered that it was his bag. He also said that he had nothing to declare.

PW27 nonetheless searched the black bag and discovered that there was a hidden compartment at the base of the bag. She unscrewed the base and found that it had hidden ten bundles wrapped in newspapers. She took out one bundle, unwrapped it, and cut the outer translucent cover. Some substances, later ascertained to be diamorphine (heroin) were found in three other bundles from the bag. Just before the bag was inspected, the accused gave some money to the taxi driver and said that the “thing” was his and the taxi driver “was not involved”.

SI Ashari Bin Hassan (“PW30”), an officer of the Central Narcotics Bureau (“CNB”) then interviewed the accused at the Woodlands checkpoint. PW30 had his colleague SI Choo Thiam Hock (“PW29”) as interpreter. When asked if he had anything to surrender, the accused said that he had “ten bundles of heroin weighing five pounds and a packet of “ice” weighing 22.7g in the lower compartment of the black bag”. He also disclosed that he had drug related utensils in the side compartment of the bag. He told PW30 and PW29 that he was going to deliver the heroin in Geylang and be paid $10,000 for that. This is also the evidence of SSgt Edwin Lee Mun Foong (“PW31”) who was among the group of officers at the arrest of the accused.

PW30 then searched the black bag and retrieved the drugs and drug related contents from the compartment as well as the articles from the side compartment as disclosed by the accused. PW29 then took over and questioned the accused who told him that he (the accused) had collected the drugs from one “Seow Eh”. The accused was asked to telephone “Seow Eh” which he did. The brief message given by the accused was that he was “ready” and had “cleared”. However, about six minutes later “Seow Eh” called the accused and a brief but strange conversation took place. “Seow Eh” said that he would ask someone to call the accused and “Seow Eh” asked the accused if he was ready. The accused said he was ready, but added that he was “sad and sorrowful”. He repeated that he was ready and that “Seow Eh” was “hopeless”. The two telephone calls were made using mobile phones. PW29’s understanding of the latter conversation was that the accused was trying to signal to “Seow Eh” that he (the accused) had been arrested. PW29 thus assessed the accused as “not co-operative”.

The accused was taken to the Central Narcotics Bureau (“CNB”) headquarters and there he was tested positive for amphetamines. His urine samples were then sent to the Health Sciences Authority (“HSA”) where they were tested and were found to...