Passenger cleared in 77kg meth case, driver is not

IPOH: An oil palm plantation worker was freed by the High Court here on two counts of trafficking 77.7kg of methamphetamine.

Leong Hoi Aw, 52, was discharged and acquitted without being called up by Justice Abdul Wahab Mohamed after the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him.

However, trader Liew Wan Wah, 46, who was jointly charged with Leong, was ordered to enter his defence.

Liew was given three options to defend himself: remain silent; testify under oath from the dock without being cross-examined by the prosecution; or testify under oath from the witness stand with the prosecution being allowed to cross-examine.

Lawyer P. Ravee, representing Liew, told the court that his client would testify under oath from the witness stand with the prosecution permitted to cross-examine.

Leong was represented by lawyer Charan Singh while deputy public prosecutor Yasinnisa Begam Seeni Mohideen prosecuted.

According to the statement of facts, Liew was driving a sedan car while Leong was in the back passenger seat when they were arrested at a roadblock near the Gopeng toll plaza at about 7.30pm on June 23, 2021.

A search led to the discovery of 111 Chinese tea packets labelled Guanyin Wang and six similar packets labelled Da Guan Yin, believed to contain 74.4kg of methamphetamine inside the car boot.

Further checks at about 2am on June 24, 2021, found six tea packets labelled Guanyin Wang in the spare tyre storage area, which contained about 3.2kg of methamphetamine.

Both men were charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.

In his judgment, Justice Abdul Wahab said Liew, as the driver and owner of the vehicle, was aware of the contents of the car, including the drugs found inside.

However, the court found that Leong, who was seated in the back, had no knowledge of the drugs.

Justice Abdul Wahab ruled that Leong had no control over, custody of, or knowledge about the drugs.

He added that the DNA findings were insufficient to link Leong to the drugs discovered.

Liew would enter his defence on April 22 and April 23.