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From The Star (Malaysia) - Friday January 18, 2002

Singaporean first to be convicted under amended drug law

By PRISCILLA DIELENBERG

PENANG: A 33-year-old man was sentenced to death yesterday for trafficking in ecstasy pills, the first to be handed down the penalty since the Dangerous Drugs Act was amended in 1998 to include substances used in making designer drugs.

Unemployed Singaporean Koh Tiong Hock was found guilty by a High Court of trafficking in 7,468 pills containing 801.7gm of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) at Departure Gate Six of the Penang International Airport at 4pm on July 21, 2000.

Koh, who had remained expressionless throughout most of the trial, appeared to be holding back tears as the interpreter explained to him in Mandarin the court’s finding.

Justice Md Raus Sharif said the court had to convict Koh because he had failed to raise any reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case against him.

“Drug trafficking is punishable with only one sentence, and that sentence is death,” he said, adding that Koh had the right to appeal.

After the court adjourned, Koh appeared relieved when he realised that he could file an appeal before leaving the courtroom.

In his submission earlier yesterday, court-appointed counsel T. Jegadeeson said a videotape, which showed Koh with the packets of pills strapped to his body, should not have been viewed by the court.

He said the videotape amounted to a confession, and the court should have ordered a trial-within-a-trial to determine its admissibility before allowing it to be screened.

He also said it was not safe to convict Koh based on the testimony of the chemist, who had analysed less than 3% of the total amount of the drug, way below the minimum amount needed to convict a person of drug trafficking.

DPP Hazril Harun submitted that Koh knew about the contents of the packets strapped to his body, saying: “Logically, there is no need to conceal the substances if it were not dangerous. He could have carried them openly.’’

He also said Koh’s defence was that of bare denial, and there was no evidence that he had been threatened by two men to carry the drugs.

In his judgment, Justice Md Raus said he found Koh’s defence difficult to believe: “I cannot accept his defence that two men forcefully strapped the eight packets of pills to his body to be taken to New Zealand, and that he did not know the contents of the packets.’’

Drug trafficking under Section 39B of the Act carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction. In an amendment that came into force on Sept 15, 1998, MDMA and other such substances were included in the schedule of dangerous drugs.