PUTRAJAYA, Oct 5 — The Court of Appeal has set aside a former e-hailing driver’s conviction for drug trafficking and substituted it with possession, reducing his life sentence to nine years in prison and 10 strokes of the cane.
The three-judge panel comprising Justices Datuk Azman Abdullah, Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, and K. Muniandy ordered S. Saravanan, 43, to serve the sentence from December 21, 2022, the date of his arrest.
He had previously been sentenced by the High Court to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane after being convicted of trafficking 475.7g of cannabis.
Delivering the court’s unanimous decision, Justice Muniandy said the High Court had erred in convicting the appellant of trafficking the drug under Section 39B (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, when the prosecution’s evidence, even taken at its highest, established only possession.
The High Court had relied on the statutory presumption of trafficking under Section 37(da)(vi) of the Act despite the absence of evidence showing any overt act of distribution or digital evidence of trafficking.
“There was also no evidence of distribution such as weighing scales, packaging equipment, or customer ledgers, and the appellant had only RM70 in his wallet.
“The prosecution failed to conduct any digital forensic extraction or tender as substantive exhibits the two seized phones, leaving a critical evidentiary void of any call logs, messages, or transaction records to substantiate an illicit commercial enterprise,” he said.
Justice Muniandy noted that while Saravanan’s physical custody and control of the cannabis found in the vehicle had been established, the absence of any overt act of distribution meant the case should be treated as possession.
On October 10, 2024, the Kuala Lumpur High Court convicted Saravanan of trafficking the cannabis at a car park next to a block of flats in Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras, at 12.45pm on December 21, 2022.
Saravanan’s lawyer Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik assisted by Low Wei Loke, submitted that the absence of any overt act of distribution was sufficient to rebut the statutory presumption of trafficking.
He sought a sentence of eight years and 10 strokes of the cane, while Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Fuad Abdul Aziz proposed nine years and 10 strokes based on sentencing trends.
