Public Prosecutor v Tan Tiew Guay & Chow Mun Fai: Drug Trafficking & Possession

In Public Prosecutor v Tan Tiew Guay and Chow Mun Fai, the High Court of Singapore heard a case involving charges of drug possession and trafficking. Tan Tiew Guay, the wife, and Chow Mun Fai, the husband, were jointly charged with possession of heroin for trafficking purposes. The court found Tan Tiew Guay guilty of possession of 5.29g of heroin and sentenced her to 8 months imprisonment. Chow Mun Fai was found guilty of possession of 23.21g of heroin for the purposes of trafficking and was sentenced to death.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Tan Tiew Guay found guilty of possession; Chow Mun Fai found guilty of trafficking and sentenced to death.

1.3 Case Type

Criminal

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Tan Tiew Guay and Chow Mun Fai were charged with drug trafficking. Tan Tiew Guay was found guilty of possession, while Chow Mun Fai was convicted of trafficking.

1.7 Decision Date

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party NameRoleTypeOutcomeOutcome TypeCounsels
Public ProsecutorProsecutionGovernment AgencyGuilty verdict for Chow Mun FaiWon
April Phang of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Jaswant Singh of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Chow Mun FaiDefendantIndividualGuilty of TraffickingLost
Tan Tiew GuayDefendantIndividualGuilty of PossessionLost

3. Judges

Judge NameTitleDelivered Judgment
Choo Han TeckJudicial CommissionerYes

4. Counsels

Counsel NameOrganization
April PhangAttorney-General’s Chambers
Jaswant SinghAttorney-General’s Chambers
Teo Choo KeeLee & Tan
Sng Kheng HuatSng & Co
Peter FernandoLeo Fernando
Peter OngThomas Loh Partnership

4. Facts

  1. Tan Tiew Guay and Chow Mun Fai were married and had three children.
  2. The couple owned a flat at Block 744, Woodlands, jointly with Chow Mun Fai’s brother.
  3. CNB officers arrested the couple on 22 June 2000 in a lift at Block 744, Woodlands.
  4. Tan Tiew Guay was holding a red paper bag containing ten sachets of heroin.
  5. More heroin was found in the master bedroom of their flat.
  6. Chow Mun Fai's mother opened a bank account at his request, and Tan Tiew Guay deposited money into it.
  7. Ong Choon Hong testified that she heard Chow Mun Fai arranging a drug deal.

5. Formal Citations

  1. Public Prosecutor v Tan Tiew Guay (f) and Another, CC 69/2000, [2000] SGHC 256

6. Timeline

DateEvent
Tan Tiew Guay and Chow Mun Fai married.
Chow Mun Fai asked his mother to open a bank account at the Jurong Branch of the United Overseas Bank.
Tan Tiew Guay deposited $1500 into the UOB account at the Ang Mo Kio branch on Chow’s instructions.
Tan Tiew Guay and Chow Mun Fai were arrested by CNB officers at 11.35pm in a lift at Block 744, Woodlands.
Chow Mun Fai's statement recorded.
Judgment delivered.

7. Legal Issues

  1. Drug Trafficking
    • Outcome: Chow Mun Fai was found guilty of drug trafficking.
    • Category: Substantive
  2. Drug Possession
    • Outcome: Tan Tiew Guay was found guilty of drug possession.
    • Category: Substantive
  3. Spousal Privilege
    • Outcome: The court acknowledged the effect of section 124 of the Evidence Act regarding spousal privilege but did not find its exclusion critical to the outcome.
    • Category: Procedural
    • Related Cases:
      • [1995] 1 SLR 238

8. Remedies Sought

  1. Imprisonment
  2. Death Penalty

9. Cause of Actions

  • Drug Possession
  • Drug Trafficking

10. Practice Areas

  • Criminal Litigation

11. Industries

  • No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case NameCourtAffirmedCitationJurisdictionSignificance
Lim Lye Hock v PPCourt of AppealYes[1995] 1 SLR 238SingaporeCited for the interpretation of section 124 of the Evidence Act regarding spousal privilege.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute NameJurisdiction
Evidence ActSingapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

  • Heroin
  • Trafficking
  • Possession
  • CNB
  • Sachets
  • Woodlands flat
  • Spousal privilege

15.2 Keywords

  • drug trafficking
  • drug possession
  • heroin
  • singapore
  • criminal law

17. Areas of Law

Area NameRelevance Score
Misuse of Drugs Act95
Criminal Law90
Offences70
Evidence Law60
Theft30

16. Subjects

  • Criminal Law
  • Drug Offences