Public Prosecutor v Moad Fadzir bin Mustaffa and another

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Choo Han Teck J
• Judgment Date: 15 February 2019
• Neutral Citation: [2019] SGHC 33
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Docket Number: Criminal Case No 67 of 2018
• Published date: 12 December 2019
• Year: 2019
• Hearing Date: 27 September 2018,26 September 2018,13 November 2018,14 November 2018,25 September 2018,04 February 2019,28 September 2018,15 November 2018,16 November 2018
• Plaintiff Counsel: Muhamad Imaduddien Bin Abd Karim and Prakash Otharam (Attorney-General's Chambers)
• Defendant Counsel: Peter Keith Fernando (M/s Leo Fernando) and Lim Hui Li Debby (Shook Lin & Bok LLP),Eugene Singarajah Thuraisingam and Chooi Jing Yen (Eugene Thuraisingam LLP)
• Subject Matter: Criminal Law,Statutory offences,Misuse of Drugs Act
• Citation: [2019] SGHC 33

Choo Han Teck J:

Moad Fadzir bin Mustaffa (“Moad”) is 40 years old this year. He worked as a warehouse assistant and part-time lorry driver during the day, and on some nights he attended a course in Diploma in Warehouse Operations at the Singapore Polytechnic. The second accused Zuraimy bin Musa (“Zuraimy”) is 50 years old this year, and is a friend of Moad. Zuraimy lived in his uncle’s flat at Block 1 Holland Close (“Holland Close”).

On 11 April 2016, Moad attended his class at the Singapore Polytechnic until 10.00pm. He then drove a rented Mazda car, SKV 4443H to Holland Close where he picked up Zuraimy and then left together to Blk 157 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 (“Toa Payoh”). Moad parked the car at the loading/unloading bay of Blk 157 and waited in the car with Zuraimy. An Indian man went up to the car and threw a white plastic bag through the front window, onto Moad’s lap. Moad then passed a bundle of folded $50 notes to the Indian man. Subsequently, Moad handed the plastic bag to Zuraimy who tied it before placing it into Moad’s black sling bag.

Moad then dropped Zuraimy along Commonwealth Avenue West and Zuraimy walked a short distance from there to Holland Close where he was arrested by officers of the Central Narcotics Bureau (“CNB”). Moad, meanwhile, drove back to his own flat at Block 623 Woodlands Drive 52, arriving at 12.08am (of 12 April). He remained in the car until 12.15am when he decided to get out of the car with the black sling bag. He was promptly arrested by officers from the CNB, and his black sling bag was seized. The white plastic bag was taken from this sling bag in Moad’s presence. The white plastic bag had four evenly packed taped bundles of granular substances, analysed to be 36.93g of diamorphine (“the Drugs”). Both men were charged for trafficking in this 36.93g of diamorphine.

Moad’s charge reads

You, MOAD FADZIR BIN MUSTAFFA are charged that you, on 12th April 2016, at or about 12.15a.m., at the vicinity of Blk 623 Woodlands Drive 52, Singapore, together with one Zuraimy bin Musa, NRIC No. SXXXXX06E, in furtherance of the common intention of both of you, did traffic in a controlled drug specified in Class ‘A’ of the First Schedule to the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008, Rev Ed), to wit, by having in your possession for the purpose of trafficking, four packets of granular substances that were analysed and found to contain not less than 36.93 grams of diamorphine, without any authorization under the said Act or Regulations made thereunder and you have thereby committed an offence under section 5(1)(a) read with section 5(2) of the Misuse of Drug Act read with section 34 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed) which offence is punishable under section 33(1) of the misuse of Drug Act.

and Zuraimy’s charge reads

You, ZURAIMY BIN MUSA are charged that you, on 12th April 2016, at or about 12.15a.m., at the vicinity of Blk 623 Woodlands Drive 52, Singapore, together with one Moad Fadzir bin Mustaffa, NRIC No. SXXXXX12F, in furtherance of the common intention of both of you, did traffic in a controlled drug specified in Class ‘A’ of the First Schedule to the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008, Rev Ed), to wit, by having in your possession for the purpose of trafficking four packets of granular substances that were analysed and found to contain not less than 36.93 grams of diamorphine, without any authorization under the said Act or Regulations made thereunder and you have thereby committed an offence under section 5(1)(a) read with section 5(2) of the Misuse of Drug Act read with section 34 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed) which offence is punishable under section 33(1) of the Misuse of Drug Act.

I will first deal with the case of Moad. The Prosecution relied on statements marked P84 and P85, which were Moad’s statements recorded an hour after his arrest. The Prosecution further relied on two statements marked P94 and P95. Moad tried to stop the admission of P84 and P85 into evidence, but after an inquiry into the recording of those statements, I found that Moad made those statements freely and without coercion and so admitted them into evidence. Those two statements were particularly incriminating.

In his cautioned statement, Moad did not deny any wrongdoing or raised any fact relevant to his defence in court. All he stated was: “I have nothing to say at all. I am now confused and unable to think properly”. This statement was recorded on 12 April 2016 at 11.37am.

In P84, which was recorded at 3.00am of 12 April 2016, Moad was asked to whom the taped bundles in his sling bag belong and Moad replied: “They asked me to pick up at Toa Payoh”. He clarified by saying that it was “Abang” who instructed him to collect the bundles. Then Senior Station Inspector Tony Ng (“SSI Tony Ng”) asked “what is inside the four taped bundles?” and Moad replied, “They told me to be careful, is heroin”. In the same statement Moad also said that Abang instructed him to go to Toa Payoh with “Lan” and that he was to pick up “Lan” who will then show him the way to Toa Payoh. In...