Public Prosecutor v Ng Yang Sek

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Amarjeet Singh JC
• Judgment Date: 07 May 1997
• Neutral Citation: [1997] SGHC 118
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Published date: 05 February 2013
• Year: 1997
• Plaintiff Counsel: Low Cheong Yeow assisted by Elaine Tan and Tham Yuet Ming
• Defendant Counsel: Yang Ing Loong assisted by Doris Lai (Both Briefed)
• Citation: [1997] SGHC 118

Judgment:

Charge

1. The above-named Accused was charged and tried on two amended charges:-

Firstly,

that he on or about the 3rd day of October 1996, between 5.20pm and 5.40pm in Singapore, did traffic in a controlled drug specified in Class A of the First Schedule to the Misuse of Drugs Act, Chapter 185, to wit, by transporting 3,449 grams of opium containing not less than 53.93 grams of morphine from the vicinity of Block 327 Yishun Ring Road to Punggol Road in a taxi bearing registration number SHA 9327L without any authorization under the said Act or the Regulations made thereunder and that he thereby committed an offence under section 5(1)(a) punishable under seciton 33 of the Misuse of Drugs Act and

Secondly,

that he on or about the 3rd day of October 1996 at about 7.15pm at apartment Block 327 Yishun Ring Road #02-1310, Singapore, did traffic in a controlled drug specified in Class A of the First Schedule to the Misuse of Drugs Act, Chapter 185, to wit, by having in his possession for the purpose of trafficking 13,956.1 grams of opium containing not less than 111.66 grams of morphine at the said apartment without any authorization under the said Act or the Regulations made thereunder, and he thereby committed an offence under section 5(1)(a) read with section 5(2) and punishable under section 33 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Prosecution Case

2. The undisputed facts emerging during the Prosecution case may be briefly stated.

2.1 On the afternoon of 3 Oct 1996 Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers kept surveillence on the Accused who was visiting a flat at Blk 8 Hougang Avenue 3 #03-04 Singapore. He left Blk 8 at about 4.45pm in a taxi SHA 9357L for his residence at Blk 327 Yishun Ring Road. After alighting, he was seen to enter his apartment #02-1310 and leave five minutes later carrying a green cloth bag slung over his right shoulder. He reboarded the same taxi which had waited. The taxi travelled to Punggol Road where it was intercepted by CNB officers just after Track 13 and before the road turns into Punggol Port Road. The Accused was found to have his green cloth bag (which was on the floor board of the front passenger seat where he sat) between his legs. In it were two plastic bags one pink and one white. In each bag was a bundle wrapped in white masking tape. Each bundle had black substance in it.

2.2 The Accused was detained and later brought to his residence in Blk 327 Yishun Ring Road. In the flat the Accused indicated and led CNB officers to further recover :

(a) in a kitchen cabinet a big aluminium pot with a lid in which were packets of black substance.

(b) in a cabinet under a wash basin in the kitchen four containers stacked on top of one another. The bottom two containers, one small aluminium pot with lid and the other a white tupperware, contained the same black substance. On top of these two containers were two more plastic containers. The topmost plastic container with a lid was empty. The one underneath it with two lids was also empty save for a metal spoon.

3. Dr Lui Chi Pang (Dr Lui), Scientific Officer from the Department of Scientific Services (DSS) analysed all the black substance in the various containers which was sticky and qualitatively found the substances to be raw opium which he stated was a Class A controlled drug under the First Schedule of the Misuse of Drugs Act Cap 185 (‘the Act’). He issued various reports in respect of his analysis as follows:

3.1 In respect of the 1st charge, i.e. the opium seized from the taxi in the two plastic bags and wrapped in masking tapes, Dr Lui testified that the combined weight of the opium was 3,449 gms and the total weight of the morphine to be not less than 53.93 gms.

3.2 In respect of the 2nd charge, i.e. the opium seized in the flat, the total weight of the opium in the big aluminium pot was 12,024 gms, in the small aluminium pot 676 gms and in the white tupperware it was 1,256 gms. The total weight was 13,956.1 gms. The quantitative analysis of two of the eight packets of opium being packets Nos.’1 - 2’ in the big aluminium pot showed a morphine content of not less than 111.66 gms i.e. 59.83 gms in one and 51.83 gms in the other.

3.3 The Scientific Officer found the two small plastic containers and the spoon found in one of the containers to be stained with opium though empty.

The contents of packets Nos. ‘3 - 8’, the small aluminium pot and white tupperware were not quantitatively analysed for morphine.

3.4 As for the opium found in the small aluminium pot and the white tupperware, the Scientific Officer stated that he had found some yellowish brown lumps which did not look like opium at the bottom of these two containers only. The Investigating Officer had earlier informed him that there might be sweet potatoes or banana pulp in the opium. The Scientific Officer said he scooped out all the said lumps stained with the black substance and isolated them in separate plastic bags and that the weight of the opium he gave in his respective DSS Reports as contained in the small aluminium pot and the said white tupperware was minus the weight of the lumpy substances he had removed. He also stated that he did not analyse the said lumpy material although the lumps resembled banana pulp and sweet potatoes from visual observation.

Apart from the above undisputed facts, the Scientific Officer disagreed with Counsel for the Defence when cross-examined that remnants of some of the lumps or decayed lumps may have been included in the black substance. Clarifying questions from the Court, the Scientific Officer stated that he had weighed the lumps which he removed from the small aluminium pot. The weight of the lumps was 1970 grams leaving the weight of opium as 676.1 gms. Similarly, the weight of the lumps in the white tupperware was 1382 gms as the weight of the remaining opium was 1256 gms.

3.5 Dr Lui also referred to the extracts from a treatise, "Recommended methods for testing opium/crude morphine, UN Publication, 1987, Division of Narcotic Drugs" for the definition of raw opium. It is stated in the said extracts that raw opium "...is a non-homogenous substance containing poppy capsule fragments and sometimes is adulterated with banana pulp or rosin". When Dr Lui was questioned by the Court as to why raw opium is sometimes adulterated with banana pulp, he opined that it was possible bananas pulp were added to raw opium in order to make the raw opium more bulky, thus enabling the raw opium to be sold for a larger amount of money.

3.6 The DSS reports of the Accused urine samples were also admitted by the Prosecution. The Accused tested negative for morphine.

4. The Accused made two Statements under s 122(6) of the Criminal Procedure Code Cap 68 (CPC) one in respect of each of the two charges. He did not object to their admission in evidence and they are as follows:

1st Charge:

S 122(6) Statement (Exh. P52)

"I came from China. I am not a drug addict. I wanted to bring the opium to a fish pond in Punggol to be buried under a plant called "Toh Pit" for 3 weeks and later blend it with sweet potatos and other Chinese herbs known as "Chuan Noi", "Kwee Kee", "Cha Ha", "Hu Chit" and "Toh Tong" to be used as a medicine. The medicine would be used externally and not for consumption. The opium was also not meant for sale alone as a drug. Please take a look at the two cooking pots seized and you would find some sweet potatoes under a layer of opium. The opium and the sweet potato would be kept in the cooking pot for two weeks before they would be blended with the above mentioned Chinese herb for external use. The opium would not be cooked at any stage. The opium seized in the taxi is meant to be buried under the plant known as "Toh Pit" for the above purpose."

2nd Charge

S 122(6) Statement (Exh. P53)

"The opium seized from my flat would be brought to a fish pond in Punggol to be buried under a plant known as "Toh Pit" and later used as a medicine for sprained and dislocated limbs. I did not bring all the opium to Punggol because each time I could only bury two packets of opium under the "Toh Pit" tree."

S 121 Statement (Exh. P65)

In his s 121 statement which was made voluntarily and also admitted without objection, the Accused had stated that:

i) he took the two packets of opium from his house wrapped each of them in masking tape and took them to Punggol as he intended to bury them under a Toh Pit tree. The masking tape would prevent water from seeping into the two packets of opium.

ii) after his arrest, he was escorted back to his flat where he produced eight packets of opium inside an aluminium pot placed in a kitchen cabinet, a smaller aluminium pot and tupperware container containing some opium and some sweet potatoes blended with some Chinese herbs and he was thereafter detained.

iii) he had buried two packets of opium under a Toh Pit tree beside a fish pond on 26.8.96 (corrected in Court to 28.8.96) and left them there for 3 weeks after which he retrieved them and placed them in the small aluminium pot and the tupperware container.

iv) that on the day of his arrest he was going to bury another two packets of opium when he was arrested.

v) his purpose in burying the opium under the Toh Pit tree was to get rid of the heaty property of the opium. He would place sweet potatoes and peeled bananas in the opium after retrieving it to enable the sweet potatoes and bananas to absorb the opium and the property of the Toh Pit tree and the mixture would be left in the container for two weeks before they will be mixed with Chinese herbs:- Chuan Noi, Cha Hu, Kwee Kee, Gu Chit and Toh Tong and that the smaller aluminium pot and tupperware container had already been left there for 8 days but had not been mixed with Chinese herbs yet. Further, thereafter the mixture would be used as medicine for rheumaticism, sprains and dislocated limbs.

vi) the mixture would then used for treating his acquaintances and construction workers at different...