PP v Low Sze Song: Trafficking of Diamorphine under Misuse of Drugs Act
In Public Prosecutor v Low Sze Song and Sivaprakash Krishnan, the High Court of Singapore found Low Sze Song and Sivaprakash Krishnan guilty of trafficking not less than 43.2g of diamorphine under s 5(1)(a) read with s 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act. The court determined that both Low and Sivaprakash were couriers under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
1. Case Overview
1.1 Court
General Division of the High Court1.2 Outcome
Guilty
1.3 Case Type
Criminal
1.4 Judgment Type
Judgment
1.5 Jurisdiction
Singapore
1.6 Description
Low Sze Song and Sivaprakash Krishnan were jointly tried for trafficking diamorphine. The court found both guilty and determined they were couriers.
1.7 Decision Date
2. Parties and Outcomes
| Party Name | Role | Type | Outcome | Outcome Type | Counsels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Prosecutor | Prosecution | Government Agency | Judgment for Prosecution | Won | Teo Siu Ming of Attorney-General’s Chambers Jotham Tay of Attorney-General’s Chambers Adrian Loo Yu Hao of Attorney-General’s Chambers |
| Low Sze Song | Defendant | Individual | Guilty | Lost | |
| Sivaprakash Krishnan | Defendant | Individual | Guilty | Lost |
3. Judges
| Judge Name | Title | Delivered Judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Dedar Singh Gill | Judge | Yes |
4. Counsels
| Counsel Name | Organization |
|---|---|
| Teo Siu Ming | Attorney-General’s Chambers |
| Jotham Tay | Attorney-General’s Chambers |
| Adrian Loo Yu Hao | Attorney-General’s Chambers |
| Koh Choon Guan Daniel | Eldan Law LLP |
| Teh Ee-Von | Infinitus Law Corporation |
| Mahadevan Lukshumayeh | Lukshumayeh Law Corporation |
| Nathan Edmund | Lions Chambers LLC |
4. Facts
- Low, a 70-year-old Singaporean, and Sivaprakash, a 35-year-old Malaysian, were jointly tried for drug trafficking.
- On May 30, 2019, Low was at Sumang Walk with his personal mobility device.
- Sivaprakash approached Sumang Walk on his motorcycle and gave Low a white plastic bag.
- Low gave Sivaprakash S$9,000 in exchange for the bag.
- The bag contained not less than 43.26g of diamorphine.
- Low was arrested at the lift lobby of Blk 986C.
- Sivaprakash was arrested at a canteen along 16A Sungei Kadut Way.
5. Formal Citations
- Public Prosecutor v Low Sze Song and another, Criminal Case No 36 of 2022, [2023] SGHC 95
6. Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Low was at Sumang Walk with his personal mobility device. | |
| Sivaprakash approached Sumang Walk on his motorcycle. | |
| Sivaprakash gave Low a white plastic bag containing packets of drugs, and Low gave Sivaprakash cash totalling S$9,000. | |
| Low was arrested by CNB officers at the lift lobby of Blk 986C. | |
| Sivaprakash was arrested by CNB officers at a canteen along 16A Sungei Kadut Way. | |
| SI Sunny recorded a contemporaneous statement from Low. | |
| SI Nabil recorded a contemporaneous statement from Sivaprakash. | |
| SI Huang recorded a cautioned statement from Sivaprakash. | |
| IO Weili recorded a cautioned statement from Low. | |
| IO Weili recorded a long statement from Low. | |
| IO Weili recorded a long statement from Sivaprakash. | |
| IO Weili recorded a long statement from Low. | |
| IO Weili recorded a long statement from Sivaprakash. | |
| IO Weili recorded a long statement from Low. | |
| IO Weili recorded a long statement from Sivaprakash. | |
| IO Vinod recorded a long statement from Sivaprakash. | |
| IO Vinod recorded a long statement from Low. | |
| Trial began. | |
| Trial concluded. | |
| Closing submissions of the Second Accused. | |
| Judgment reserved. |
7. Legal Issues
- Possession of Controlled Drug
- Outcome: The court found that both accused had possession of the drugs.
- Category: Substantive
- Knowledge of Nature of Drug
- Outcome: The court found that both accused knew the nature of the drug.
- Category: Substantive
- Purpose of Trafficking
- Outcome: The court found that the possession of the drug was for the purpose of trafficking.
- Category: Substantive
- Chain of Custody
- Outcome: The court found that the chain of custody was not compromised.
- Category: Procedural
- Whether accused are couriers
- Outcome: The court found that both accused were couriers.
- Category: Substantive
8. Remedies Sought
- Conviction
- Sentencing
9. Cause of Actions
- Trafficking in Controlled Drugs
10. Practice Areas
- Criminal Litigation
11. Industries
- No industries specified
12. Cited Cases
| Case Name | Court | Affirmed | Citation | Jurisdiction | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muhammad Ridzuan bin Md Ali v Public Prosecutor and other matters | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2014] 3 SLR 721 | Singapore | Cited for the three elements of an offence under s 5(1)(a) read with s 5(2) of the MDA. |
| Mohamed Affandi bin Rosli v Public Prosecutor and another appeal | Unknown | Yes | [2019] 1 SLR 440 | Singapore | Cited for the principle that the Prosecution must account for the movement of exhibits from seizure to analysis. |
| Jagatheesan s/o Krishnasamy v Public Prosecutor | Unknown | Yes | [2006] 4 SLR(R) 45 | Singapore | Cited for the definition of 'reasonable doubt' as a doubt for which one can give a reason logically connected to the evidence. |
| Public Prosecutor v GCK and another matter | Unknown | Yes | [2020] 1 SLR 486 | Singapore | Affirmed the definition of 'reasonable doubt' as stated in Jagatheesan s/o Krishnasamy v Public Prosecutor. |
| Ng Kwee Leong v Public Prosecutor | Unknown | Yes | [1998] 3 SLR(R) 281 | Singapore | Cited for the principle that adequate allowance is accorded to human fallibility in retention and recollection. |
| Muhammad bin Kadar and another v Public Prosecutor | Unknown | Yes | [2011] 3 SLR 1205 | Singapore | Cited in relation to the maintenance of pocket books and field diaries by police officers. |
| Satli bin Masot v Public Prosecutor | Unknown | Yes | [1999] 1 SLR(R) 931 | Singapore | Cited for the principle that whether a doubt exists must be judged in light of all the surrounding circumstances. |
| Public Prosecutor v Yen May Woen | High Court | Yes | [2003] SGHC 60 | Singapore | Cited for the principle that the mere fact that questions may remain unanswered does not necessarily mean that a reasonable doubt in the Prosecution’s case has arisen. |
| Public Prosecutor v Chen Mingjian | Unknown | Yes | [2009] 4 SLR(R) 946 | Singapore | Cited for the principle that speculative arguments about the mere possibility of contamination are insufficient to raise a reasonable doubt as to the chain of custody. |
| Dinesh Pillai a/l K Raja Retnam v Public Prosecutor | Unknown | Yes | [2012] 2 SLR 903 | Singapore | Cited for the principle that the burden is on the accused to rebut the presumption of knowledge under s 18(2) of the MDA. |
| Zainal bin Hamad v Public Prosecutor and another appeal | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2018] 2 SLR 1119 | Singapore | Cited for the proper analytical approach to be adopted when considering whether the accused has rebutted the presumption of knowledge under s 18(2) of the MDA. |
| Obeng Comfort v PP | Unknown | Yes | [2017] 1 SLR 633 | Singapore | Cited for the analytical approach to rebutting the presumption of knowledge under s 18(2) of the MDA. |
| Public Prosecutor v Gobi a/l Avedian | Unknown | Yes | [2019] 1 SLR 113 | Singapore | Cited for the principle that an accused person who simply does not bother or does not want to know what drugs or even what goods he is going to carry will not be able to rebut the presumption of knowledge under s 18(2) of the MDA. |
| Gobi a/l Avedian v Public Prosecutor | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2021] 1 SLR 180 | Singapore | Affirmed the principle that an accused person who does not bother to know what drugs he is carrying cannot rebut the presumption of knowledge under s 18(2) of the MDA. |
| Tan Kiam Peng v Public Prosecutor | Unknown | Yes | [2008] 1 SLR 1 | Singapore | Cited for the need to give full purposive effect to the policy underlying the MDA, which is to stem the threat that drug trafficking poses. |
| Public Prosecutor v Chum Tat Suan | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2015] 1 SLR 834 | Singapore | Cited for the definition of a 'courier' under s 33B of the MDA. |
| Zainudin bin Mohamed v Public Prosecutor | Unknown | Yes | [2018] 1 SLR 449 | Singapore | Cited for the principle that the act of packing was a facilitative act in respect of Sivaprakash’s delivery of the Drug Bundles. |
13. Applicable Rules
| Rule Name |
|---|
| No applicable rules |
14. Applicable Statutes
| Statute Name | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed) | Singapore |
| Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68, 2012 Rev Ed) | Singapore |
| Evidence Act 1893 (2020 Rev Ed) | Singapore |
15. Key Terms and Keywords
15.1 Key Terms
- Diamorphine
- Drug Trafficking
- Misuse of Drugs Act
- Controlled Drug
- Courier
- Possession
- Knowledge
- Chain of Custody
15.2 Keywords
- Drug Trafficking
- Diamorphine
- Misuse of Drugs Act
- Singapore
- Criminal Law
17. Areas of Law
| Area Name | Relevance Score |
|---|---|
| Misuse of Drugs Act | 95 |
| Criminal Law | 75 |
| Evidence | 60 |
| Evidence Law | 50 |
| Criminal Procedure | 40 |
| Admissibility of evidence | 30 |
| Sentencing | 30 |
| Civil Procedure | 20 |
| Sentencing Principles | 20 |
| Bail Review | 10 |
16. Subjects
- Criminal Law
- Drug Trafficking