PP v Tan Lye Heng: Admissibility of Statements & Presumptions under Misuse of Drugs Act
The Public Prosecutor appealed against the acquittal of Tan Lye Heng by the District Judge on a charge of drug trafficking under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The High Court allowed the appeal, finding that the Trial Judge erred in reversing his decision to admit the respondent's statements as evidence. The court found Tan Lye Heng guilty of the charge.
1. Case Overview
1.1 Court
High Court of the Republic of Singapore1.2 Outcome
Appeal Allowed
1.3 Case Type
Criminal
1.4 Judgment Type
Judgment
1.5 Jurisdiction
Singapore
1.6 Description
Appeal regarding admissibility of statements and presumptions under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The court found the accused guilty.
1.7 Decision Date
2. Parties and Outcomes
| Party Name | Role | Type | Outcome | Outcome Type | Counsels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Prosecutor | Appellant | Government Agency | Appeal Allowed | Won | Marcus Foo Guo Wen of Attorney-General’s Chambers Zulhafni Zulkiflee of Attorney-General’s Chambers |
| Tan Lye Heng | Respondent | Individual | Convicted | Lost | |
| Sim Chiew Hoon | Other | Individual |
3. Judges
| Judge Name | Title | Delivered Judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Steven Chong | Judge of Appeal | Yes |
4. Counsels
| Counsel Name | Organization |
|---|---|
| Marcus Foo Guo Wen | Attorney-General’s Chambers |
| Zulhafni Zulkiflee | Attorney-General’s Chambers |
4. Facts
- Tan Lye Heng was charged with trafficking diamorphine.
- A set of keys to Sim Chiew Hoon's flat was found in Tan Lye Heng's flat.
- Drugs were found in Sim Chiew Hoon's flat.
- Tan Lye Heng admitted to consuming drugs with Sim Chiew Hoon in her flat.
- Tan Lye Heng initially denied the disputed drugs belonged to him.
- Tan Lye Heng later admitted the disputed drugs belonged to him in statements to CNB officers.
- Sim Chiew Hoon testified that the disputed drugs belonged to Tan Lye Heng.
5. Formal Citations
- Public Prosecutor v Tan Lye Heng, Magistrate’s Appeal No 9310 of 2016, [2017] SGHC 146
6. Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Tan Lye Heng trafficked in a Class A controlled drug | |
| Tan Lye Heng was arrested at the lift lobby of his block of flats | |
| First statement was recorded from Tan Lye Heng | |
| Second statement was recorded from Tan Lye Heng | |
| Third statement was recorded from Tan Lye Heng | |
| Voir dire hearing | |
| Tan Lye Heng pleaded guilty to other offences | |
| Judgment reserved | |
| Judgment issued |
7. Legal Issues
- Admissibility of Statements
- Outcome: The court held that the Trial Judge erred in reversing his decision on the admissibility of the statements.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
- Voluntariness of statements
- Reversal of decision to admit statements
- Related Cases:
- [1980] 1 WLR 991
- [1965] NI 138
- [1995] 3 SLR(R) 90
- [1996] 1 SLR(R) 199
- [1986] 1 MLJ 302
- Presumptions under Misuse of Drugs Act
- Outcome: The court found that the presumption in s 18(1)(c) of the MDA did not arise in the present case.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
- Presumption of possession
- Presumption of knowledge
- Related Cases:
- [2004] 1 SLR(R) 550
- [2000] 2 SLR(R) 541
- [2017] 1 SLR 633
- [1977–1978] SLR(R) 97
8. Remedies Sought
- Conviction
- Imprisonment
- Caning
9. Cause of Actions
- Drug Trafficking
10. Practice Areas
- Criminal Law
- Drug Offences
11. Industries
- No industries specified
12. Cited Cases
| Case Name | Court | Affirmed | Citation | Jurisdiction | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regina v Watson (Campbell) | English Court of Appeal | Yes | [1980] 1 WLR 991 | England and Wales | Cited for the principle that a trial judge retains the power to reconsider the admissibility of evidence throughout the trial. |
| Regina v Murphy | Northern Irish Court | Yes | [1965] NI 138 | Northern Ireland | Cited to clarify that justice requires the court to revisit the issue of admissibility if confessions are later shown to be clearly involuntary. |
| Goh Joon Tong and another v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [1995] 3 SLR(R) 90 | Singapore | Accepted the principles in Watson (Campbell) and Murphy regarding the reconsideration of evidence admissibility. |
| Neo Ah Soi v Public Prosecutor | High Court | Yes | [1996] 1 SLR(R) 199 | Singapore | Applied principles to disregard statements admitted by the trial judge after a voir dire, based on doubts raised by the contents of the confessions. |
| Public Prosecutor v Mustaffa bin Ahmad | High Court | Yes | [1986] 1 MLJ 302 | Malaysia | Demonstrates that the question of voluntariness can be revisited due to reassessment of witness credibility. |
| Muhammad Ridzuan bin Md Ali v Public Prosecutor and other matters | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2014] 3 SLR 721 | Singapore | Cited for the elements required to establish a charge of possession for the purposes of trafficking under s 5(1) read with s 5(2) of the MDA. |
| Mohd Halmi bin Hamid and another v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2006] 1 SLR(R) 548 | Singapore | Cited regarding the duty to prove beyond reasonable doubt that possession was for the purposes of trafficking. |
| Muhammad bin Kadar and another v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2011] 3 SLR 1205 | Singapore | Cited regarding the reliability of statements and the weight to be accorded to them. |
| Jagatheesan s/o Krishnasamy v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2006] 4 SLR(R) 45 | Singapore | Cited for propositions regarding retracted statements and the assessment of their evidential weight. |
| Micheal Anak Garing v Public Prosecutor and another appeal | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2017] 1 SLR 748 | Singapore | Cited where the court distinguished between the core and penumbra of a witness’s evidence. |
| Teh Thiam Huat v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [1996] 3 SLR(R) 234 | Singapore | Cited regarding the inference of trafficking based on circumstantial evidence. |
| Raman Selvam s/o Renganathan v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2004] 1 SLR(R) 550 | Singapore | Affirmed the trial judge’s decision that the quantity of cannabis and drug trafficking paraphernalia proved the drugs were meant for trafficking. |
| Shahary bin Sulaiman v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2004] 4 SLR(R) 457 | Singapore | Cited regarding the court's entitlement to invoke the presumption of trafficking under s 17 of the MDA. |
| Public Prosecutor v Phuthita Somchit and another | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2011] 3 SLR 719 | Singapore | Cited regarding the court's entitlement to invoke the presumption of trafficking under s 17 of the MDA. |
| Public Prosecutor v Okonkwo Gabriel and another | High Court | Yes | [1993] 2 SLR(R) 256 | Singapore | Cited regarding the operation of the s 18(1)(c) presumption coinciding with factual control of the premises. |
| Sharom bin Ahmad and another v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2000] 2 SLR(R) 541 | Singapore | Clarifies that the presumption under s 18(1)(c) is not dependent upon ownership of the premises. |
| Obeng Comfort v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2017] 1 SLR 633 | Singapore | Commentary on the presumption in s 18(1) in full. |
| Poon Soh Har and another v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [1977–1978] SLR(R) 97 | Singapore | The presumption under s 18(1)(c) could not apply unless it was first proved that the second appellant had possession of all the relevant keys. |
| Public Prosecutor v Oh Teh Hwa | High Court | Yes | [1993] SGHC 208 | Singapore | Distinguished Poon Soh Har because the drugs were seized from the toilet and the accused possessed the sole set of keys as far as the toilet was concerned. |
| Public Prosecutor v Theo Teo Leng | High Court | Yes | [1993] SGHC 84 | Singapore | Distinguished Poon Soh Har on the basis that the accused had all the relevant keys to the main door of the flat and the bedroom where the drugs were found. |
| Public Prosecutor v Chijioke Stephen Obioha | High Court | Yes | [2008] SGHC 243 | Singapore | Distinguished Poon Soh Har on the basis that this was not a case in which three other persons also had access to the letter box and apartment in which the drugs were found. |
| R v Sin Yau-Ming | Hong Kong Court of Appeal | Yes | [1992] 1 HKCLR 127 | Hong Kong | The Hong Kong Court of Appeal interpreted the presumption to apply against each of several keyholders without requiring each to hold all the keys. |
| Vasentha d/o Joseph v Public Prosecutor | High Court | Yes | [2015] 5 SLR 122 | Singapore | The starting point for sentencing is the quantity of drugs trafficked. |
| Suventher Shanmugam v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2017] SGCA 25 | Singapore | The approach in Vasentha was used to derive indicative starting points for the unauthorised import or trafficking of 330g to 500g of cannabis. |
| Browne v Dunn | N/A | Yes | 6 R 67 | N/A | Applying the rule in Browne v Dunn (1893) 6 R 67, it was not open to the respondent to make these allegations after the IO had taken the stand. |
13. Applicable Rules
| Rule Name |
|---|
| No applicable rules |
14. Applicable Statutes
| Statute Name | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed) s 5(1)(a) | Singapore |
| Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed) s 5(2) | Singapore |
| Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed) s 33(1) | Singapore |
| Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed) s 18(1)(c) | Singapore |
| Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed) s 18(2) | Singapore |
| Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68, 2012 Rev Ed) s 279(7) | Singapore |
| Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68, 2012 Rev Ed) s 279(8) | Singapore |
| Criminal Procedure Code s 322(1) | Singapore |
| Misuse of Drugs Act s 17 | Singapore |
15. Key Terms and Keywords
15.1 Key Terms
- Diamorphine
- Trafficking
- Possession
- Statements
- Presumption
- Voir dire
- Inducement
- Voluntariness
- Key
- Premises
15.2 Keywords
- Drug trafficking
- Statements
- Presumptions
- Misuse of Drugs Act
- Criminal law
- Singapore
17. Areas of Law
| Area Name | Relevance Score |
|---|---|
| Misuse of Drugs Act | 95 |
| Sentencing | 90 |
| Admissibility of evidence | 90 |
| Criminal Procedure | 90 |
| Evidence | 80 |
| Criminal Law | 70 |
16. Subjects
- Criminal Law
- Drug Trafficking
- Evidence
- Criminal Procedure
- Sentencing