Malaysia | Judges can rely on presumptions, inferences in drug trafficking cases, says Federal Court
The Federal Court upheld the death penalty imposed on two Iranians and a local construction worker for drug trafficking today. The Federal Court today held that judges hearing drug trafficking cases could rely on presumptions and inferences to determine if the prosecution had established a prima facie case against accused persons. Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who led a 7-member bench, said the panel had traced the legislative history of Section 180 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), in particular the amendments made in 1997 and 2006. “We find that the purpose of Section 180(4) of the CPC was not to exclude the use of presumptions, inferences or anything other than direct evidence to establish a prima facie case,” she said. Rather, she said, the purpose of Section 180(4) was to clarify Parliament’s intention for the threshold to be applied at the close of the prosecution’s case. Tengku Maimun, who delivered the unanimous judgment, said this in dismissing...