Ting is flanked by Jacob and Jessie outside the courtroom.
SIBU (May 20): A 39-year-old man walked free today after the High Court here discharged and acquitted him of a drug trafficking charge.
Judicial Commissioner Christopher Chin Soo Yin made the decision after ruling that the prosecution failed to establish prima facie case against George Ting Sing Ming.
Chin also ruled that there was reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case due to the questionable expertise of the chemist.
Ting was charged under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which is punishable under Subsection 39B(2) of the same Act.
The Section provides for a mandatory death penalty upon conviction.
According to the charge, Ting was alleged to have trafficked 490.22 grams of cannabis on Jan 7, 2020 at about 1pm at a house at Lorong Ulu Sungai Merah 40A.
During the proceedings today, defence counsel Jacob Wong said in his submission that the prosecution failed to prove the actual weight of the cannabis.
He said as agreed by the chemist, the drugs weighed 490.22 grams because there was moisture and this was not the dried weight of the drugs.
Thus the prosecution had not proven that Ting trafficked the dangerous drug, he said.
Jacob was assisted by defence counsel Jessie Wong.
In his ruling, Chin said he was satisfied that the drug involved was in fact cannabis, but not satisfied that the first ingredient in this offence had been established.
“Therefore, a prima facie case has not been made out from the outset against the accused by the prosecution.
“That being the case, I need not deal with other ingredients of this offence and the arguments proffered by the parties in relation to them.
“As a result of the questionable expertise of the chemist, I find that there is reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case,” he said.
Seven witnesses were called throughout the trial which ran from April 19-23.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Zulfadhli Tuah prosecuted.