PUTRAJAYA, Oct 2 — The Court of Appeal has unanimously allowed an unemployed man to appeal against his conviction and sentence for drug trafficking and possession, quashing the original verdict and remitting the case to the High Court for a full retrial.
A three-judge panel, presided over by Justice Datuk Azman Abdullah and including Justices Datuk Noorin Badaruddin and Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid, granted the application of Zowie Choong Kim Liang, 45, to set aside a Shah Alam High Court ruling dated January 11, 2024.
"We agree and order that the conviction and sentence be set aside. Consequently, this case is remitted to the Shah Alam High Court for a retrial before a different judge. The court sets October 7 for the case mention at the High Court,” said Justice Azman.
The accused appealed against the sentence imposed by the High Court, which was passed after he had entered a guilty plea at the outset of the prosecution's case.
He had been sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane each for four drug trafficking charges, and three years' imprisonment each for two drug possession charges, with the prison terms to run concurrently from the date of arrest on August 19, 2019.
Choong had pleaded guilty to four charges of trafficking in 116.72g of MDMA, 1,204.7g of cannabis, 806.95g of Methamphetamine, and 119.98g of PMMA at a residential apartment unit in Petaling Jaya at 7.45pm on August 19, 2019.
He was charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the death penalty or imprisonment for life, and also liable to a minimum of 15 strokes of the cane.
The accused also pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing 4.12 g of Ketamine and 1.156 g of Nimetazepam at the same location, time, and date, under Section 12(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries a maximum prison term of five years or a fine of up to RM100,000, or both.
Earlier, Choong’s counsel Kee Wei Lon argued that after the accused's guilty plea was recorded, the facts of the case were read and explained to the appellant by a court interpreter in the absence of the presiding judge, which was contrary to established legal procedure.
"Therefore, the appellant pleads for the High Court's decision to be set aside and for the case to be remitted to be tried before a new judge," submitted Kee, who handled the defence with Siti Summaiyah Ahmad Jaafar and Ee Gen You.
Meanwhile, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nik Mohd Fadli Nik Azlan stated that the prosecution did not object to the appeal and requested that the case be retried.
