Reduan v Public Prosecutor: Drug Trafficking Appeal under Misuse of Drugs Act

Mohammad Reduan bin Mustaffar and Nazeeha binte Abu Hasan appealed to the Court of Appeal of Singapore against their convictions and sentences for drug trafficking under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Reduan was convicted of abetting drug trafficking and Nazeeha was convicted of trafficking methamphetamine. The Court of Appeal, comprising Andrew Phang Boon Leong JCA, Steven Chong JCA, and Chao Hick Tin SJ, dismissed both appeals, upholding the original convictions and sentences.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

Court of Appeal of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Appeals Dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Criminal

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Reduan and Nazeeha appeal against their conviction and sentence for drug trafficking. The court dismissed both appeals, upholding the original judgment.

1.7 Decision Date

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party NameRoleTypeOutcomeOutcome TypeCounsels
Public ProsecutorRespondentGovernment AgencyAppeal DismissedWon
Terence Chua of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Heershan Kaur of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Jaime Pang of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Shana Poon of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Mohammad Reduan bin MustaffarAppellantIndividualAppeal DismissedLost
Nazeeha binte Abu HasanAppellantIndividualAppeal DismissedLost
Tan Swim HongOtherIndividualConvictedLost

3. Judges

Judge NameTitleDelivered Judgment
Andrew Phang Boon LeongJustice of the Court of AppealYes
Steven ChongJustice of the Court of AppealNo
Chao Hick TinSenior JudgeNo

4. Counsels

Counsel NameOrganization
Terence ChuaAttorney-General’s Chambers
Heershan KaurAttorney-General’s Chambers
Jaime PangAttorney-General’s Chambers
Shana PoonAttorney-General’s Chambers
Daniel Chia Hsiung WenMorgan Lewis Stamford LLC
Ng Wai Keong TimothyTimothy Ng LLC
Dhillon Surinder SinghDhillon & Panoo LLC
Suppiah KrishnamurthiDhillon & Panoo LLC

4. Facts

  1. Reduan and Nazeeha were residing together at Reduan’s flat.
  2. Tan delivered a Daia washing powder box to Nazeeha.
  3. The Daia Box contained 978.3g of crystalline substance, including 661.2g of methamphetamine.
  4. Reduan admitted to knowing that the Daia Box contained methamphetamine.
  5. Nazeeha claimed she believed the Daia Box contained groceries.
  6. Reduan and Ahmad had an arrangement for drugs to be delivered from Malaysia to Singapore.
  7. Reduan sent a text message to Nazeeha about collecting 1kg of "ice" from Tan.

5. Formal Citations

  1. Mohammad Reduan bin Mustaffar v Public Prosecutor and another appeal and another matter, , [2021] SGCA 64

6. Timeline

DateEvent
Reduan received a call from Tan about delivering a detergent box.
Nazeeha collected a paper bag from Tan containing drugs.
Tan was arrested.
Reduan and Nazeeha were arrested in the flat.
Reduan made his ninth and final statement.
Criminal Case No 3 of 2019 filed.
Hearing date.
Criminal Appeal No 38 of 2019 filed.
Criminal Appeal No 39 of 2019 filed.
Criminal Motion No 34 of 2020 filed.
Hearing date.
Judgment reserved.

7. Legal Issues

  1. Drug Trafficking
    • Outcome: The court upheld the convictions for drug trafficking.
    • Category: Substantive
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Possession of controlled drugs
      • Knowledge of controlled drugs
      • Abetment of drug trafficking
  2. Rebuttal of Presumption of Knowledge
    • Outcome: The court found that Nazeeha failed to rebut the presumption of knowledge.
    • Category: Substantive
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Sufficiency of evidence to rebut presumption
      • Credibility of witnesses
  3. Sentencing for Drug Offences
    • Outcome: The court upheld the sentence of 24 years' imprisonment for Nazeeha.
    • Category: Procedural
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Appropriateness of sentence
      • Mitigating factors
      • Mandatory minimum sentence

8. Remedies Sought

  1. Appeal against Conviction
  2. Appeal against Sentence

9. Cause of Actions

  • Drug Trafficking
  • Abetting Drug Trafficking

10. Practice Areas

  • Criminal Law
  • Drug Offences
  • Appeals

11. Industries

  • No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case NameCourtAffirmedCitationJurisdictionSignificance
Public Prosecutor v Tan Swim Hong and othersHigh CourtYes[2019] SGHC 246SingaporeCited for the findings of fact and the convictions of Tan, Reduan, and Nazeeha.
Khor Soon Lee v Public ProsecutorCourt of AppealYes[2011] 3 SLR 201SingaporeCited and distinguished regarding the rebuttal of the presumption of knowledge under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Beh Chew Boo v Public ProsecutorCourt of AppealYes[2020] 2 SLR 1375SingaporeCited regarding the evidential burden on the prosecution to call a witness.
Gopu Jaya Raman v Public ProsecutorCourt of AppealYes[2018] 1 SLR 499SingaporeCited and distinguished regarding the imputation of knowledge based on prior drug activities.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute NameJurisdiction
Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed)Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

  • Methamphetamine
  • Drug Trafficking
  • Presumption of Knowledge
  • Misuse of Drugs Act
  • 250g Arrangement
  • Daia Box
  • Courier
  • Abetment
  • Rebuttal of Presumption

15.2 Keywords

  • Drug Trafficking
  • Methamphetamine
  • Singapore
  • Criminal Appeal
  • Misuse of Drugs Act

17. Areas of Law

Area NameRelevance Score
Misuse of Drugs Act95
Criminal Law90
Criminal Procedure85
Sentencing80
Appeal70
Criminal Revision30

16. Subjects

  • Criminal Law
  • Drug Offences
  • Appeals