Read the full judgment text of CACC 000121/1992 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 24 March 1993 before Yang CJ, Penington JA, Nazareth JA.
Criminal law – dangerous drugs – possession of a dangerous drug for the purpose of unlawful trafficking – Drugs Ordinance (Cap 134) – appeal against conviction – sufficiency of evidence – whether trial judge erred in finding knowing possession – whether opinion evidence of police officer on whether appellant deliberately swept cash box onto floor should have been excluded – whether cross-examination about alleged loan-shark debt was unfairly prejudicial – Court of Appeal's role in reviewing trial judge's findings of fact – drugs transaction observed by surveillance from police taxi – five polythene packets containing 67.60 grammes of mixture with 31.59 grammes of salts of esters of morphine found in cash box after appellant swept it onto floor – co-accused committed suicide before trial – trial proceeded against appellant as sole accused – trial judge accepted prosecution evidence and rejected appellant's denial of knowledge – trial judge directed himself to disregard loan-shark cross-examination – convictions – sentencing of three years' imprisonment – whether conviction safe – appeal against conviction dismissed – appeal dismissed – conviction upheld.
Legal issues: Sufficiency of findings of fact on knowing possession for trafficking · Admissibility/weight of PC 21908's evidence on appellant's state of mind · Prejudicial effect of loan-shark cross-examination
Outcome: Appeal against conviction dismissed.