KOTA BELUD: A 30-year-old e-hailing driver, Christopher Junior Tsen, was discharged and acquitted of two charges involving syabu and ketamine by the Magistrate’s Court here after the prosecution failed to establish a
prima facie case.
Magistrate A Akhiruddin Acho ruled that the defence was not required to be called as the drugs were not found on the accused’s body and the evidence did not, at its highest, demonstrate exclusive possession, knowledge, or dominion over the substances.
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The court further held that the prosecution failed to prove custody and control, noting it was undisputed from its own evidence that Tsen was not the owner of the vehicle in which the drugs were discovered.
In the absence of ownership, the prosecution was required to adduce affirmative evidence to show custody and control, but the failure to call the vehicle owner as a material witness left a significant lacuna in the case, the court said.
Tsen had been charged with possession of 26.78gm of syabu and 12.50gm of ketamine at about 2pm on May 23, 2024 at a parking lot in front of Kedai Serambi here, with four prosecution witnesses called during the hearing, after which the court ordered the bail to be refunded and noted counsel Azhier Farhan Arisin represented him.
