ID :
113660
Fri, 03/26/2010 - 19:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/113660
The shortlink copeid
DEPLOYING UNDERCOVER AGENT TO NAB DRUG TRAFFICKERS LEGAL - FEDERAL COURT
PUTRAJAYA, March 26 (Bernama) -- The use of an undercover agent or agent
provocateur to nab drug traffickers is legal under Malaysian law.
This follows yesterday's landmark ruling by the Federal Court's three-man
bench which held that evidence of an agent provocateur was credible and must be
admitted by the trial court without any restriction, by virtue of Section 40A of
the Dangerous Drug Act (DDA) 1952.
In his 22-page judgment, Federal Court judge Abdull Hamid Embong said that
in the fight against the drug menace, Parliament deemed it fit that an agent
provocateur's evidence must be admissible without any restriction.
"The trial judge is no longer vested with a discretion to exclude such
evidence," he said, adding that the court's function was only to interpret
legislations and not to add new elements, particulary when the words in statutes
were clear and unambigious.
He also said it remained that there was no place in Malaysian law to allow
defence of entrapment.
Due to drug activities being carried out with a high degree of secrecy, an
agent provocateur, usually a police officer, would be used to entice or provoke
the commission of an offence, to a suspected drug trafficker for the purpose of
securing his conviction.
Abdull Hamid also said the omission by a trial judge to treat with caution,
the evidence of an agent provocateur, did not constitute a mis-direction by the
trial judge.
The bench comprising Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum and
Federal Court judges Hashim Yusoff and Abdull Hamid upheld the conviction and
death sentence of trader Wan Mohd Azman Hassan @ Wan Ali for trafficking in
1.9kg of cannabis at a petrol kiosk in Kemaman, in the east coast state of
Terengganu at 1.25pm on April 20, 1999.
He was convicted by the Kuala Terengganu High Court in 2003, together with
Ibrahim Nawang, also known as 'Pak Ya', who passed away before his appeal was
heard by the Court of Appeal last year.
Meanwhile, Wan Mohd Azman's appeal was also dismissed by the Court of
Appeal.
On the facts of the case, Wan Mohd Azman claimed that it was 'Pak Ya' and
not him, who had absolute negotiations with an agent provocateur.
He (Wan Mohd Azman) also claimed that he was merely the driver of the car
and that it was 'Pak Ya' who took steps to deliver the cannabis up to the point
where the agent provocateur gave the pre-arranged signal to the police ambush
team, which subsequently led to their arrest.
Wan Mohd Azman's counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik had submitted that an
entrapment had occurred and the High Court judge was required to subject the
highly prejudicial evidence of the agent provocateur to a balancing exercise to
determine the weight of the evidence before admission.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Bache argued that Section 40A of the DDA
recognised the evidence of an agent provocateur.
-- BERNAMA
provocateur to nab drug traffickers is legal under Malaysian law.
This follows yesterday's landmark ruling by the Federal Court's three-man
bench which held that evidence of an agent provocateur was credible and must be
admitted by the trial court without any restriction, by virtue of Section 40A of
the Dangerous Drug Act (DDA) 1952.
In his 22-page judgment, Federal Court judge Abdull Hamid Embong said that
in the fight against the drug menace, Parliament deemed it fit that an agent
provocateur's evidence must be admissible without any restriction.
"The trial judge is no longer vested with a discretion to exclude such
evidence," he said, adding that the court's function was only to interpret
legislations and not to add new elements, particulary when the words in statutes
were clear and unambigious.
He also said it remained that there was no place in Malaysian law to allow
defence of entrapment.
Due to drug activities being carried out with a high degree of secrecy, an
agent provocateur, usually a police officer, would be used to entice or provoke
the commission of an offence, to a suspected drug trafficker for the purpose of
securing his conviction.
Abdull Hamid also said the omission by a trial judge to treat with caution,
the evidence of an agent provocateur, did not constitute a mis-direction by the
trial judge.
The bench comprising Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum and
Federal Court judges Hashim Yusoff and Abdull Hamid upheld the conviction and
death sentence of trader Wan Mohd Azman Hassan @ Wan Ali for trafficking in
1.9kg of cannabis at a petrol kiosk in Kemaman, in the east coast state of
Terengganu at 1.25pm on April 20, 1999.
He was convicted by the Kuala Terengganu High Court in 2003, together with
Ibrahim Nawang, also known as 'Pak Ya', who passed away before his appeal was
heard by the Court of Appeal last year.
Meanwhile, Wan Mohd Azman's appeal was also dismissed by the Court of
Appeal.
On the facts of the case, Wan Mohd Azman claimed that it was 'Pak Ya' and
not him, who had absolute negotiations with an agent provocateur.
He (Wan Mohd Azman) also claimed that he was merely the driver of the car
and that it was 'Pak Ya' who took steps to deliver the cannabis up to the point
where the agent provocateur gave the pre-arranged signal to the police ambush
team, which subsequently led to their arrest.
Wan Mohd Azman's counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik had submitted that an
entrapment had occurred and the High Court judge was required to subject the
highly prejudicial evidence of the agent provocateur to a balancing exercise to
determine the weight of the evidence before admission.
Deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Bache argued that Section 40A of the DDA
recognised the evidence of an agent provocateur.
-- BERNAMA
