[THIS IS A FICTIONAL CREATION INSPIRED BY SOME OF THE LEGAL CASES THAT CAME ACROSS OUR PRACTICE EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE A LEGAL ADVICE]
It was a harrowing experience, the wailing and the lamentation of the accused’s relative at the public’s gallery was not something one could easily forget.
As for Mun Tak, he was poised and maintained a stoic expression when the decision was pronounced. Only God knows what he was thinking at that moment. He managed to turn back and give his sobbing mother who was sitting at the public gallery a gentle wave before being whisked away.
Simon takes solace to the fact there is always a right to appeal accorded by law. The next battle is in the Court of Appeal!
In Singapore, the Court of Appeal (which is the upper division of the Supreme Court) is the country’s highest court and its court of final appeal.
This is important because, being the court of final appeal, it means that Mun Tak only needs to win here once and the decision of the High Court would be overturned. There is no further appeal after this.
The only catch is that now, Simon needs to convince 3 Judges sitting in the Court of Appeal compared to a single Judge in the High Court. It is therefore significantly more taxing when arguing a case in the appellate court.
Simon spoke with Mun Tak immediately after the decision and managed to secure instruction from Mun Tak’s to file an appeal (not that Mun Tak has any other options anyway). Simon also managed to obtain an order staying the execution pending appeal.
The hearing of the appeal normally takes place and concludes much sooner than that in the High Court. This is because during the appeal stage, the legal arguments/submissions all centered on the notes of evidence/testimonies previously given by the witnesses during trial in the High Court (now duly recorded in written form).
So, there is no need for the witnesses to attend court again, thus saving a considerable amount of time. Just a lot of reading though. This is where television dramas got it right, lawyers burning the midnight oil, reading literally thousands of pages of legal documents.
The appeal was scheduled about 7 months later on a rainy June morning in 2020. This is it! The final stop.
Both the defence (now called the appellant) and prosecutors (now called the respondent) took turns to submit/argue their case. Simon, who has been handling this case for almost 4 years now, not only had the facts at his fingertips but was also able to present the case in the most eloquent manner.
About 30 minutes or so, when the Judges were starting to catch the drift, the Presiding Judge suddenly interjected and turned to the prosecutors: “Why didn’t Ah Sing whose DNA was found on the pink plastic bag called as a witness?”
The Deputy Prosecutor stood up and submitted to the Presiding Judge that it was unnecessary to call Ah Sing as a witness because this is not an abetment charge, Mun Tak is the only person stands accused. Furthermore, based on all the available evidence produced and also the presumptions clauses relied on by the prosecutions, it was more than ample to find Mun Tak guilty (without calling Ah Sing). The conviction was safe!
The proceedings then went on to the arguments on other ancillary issues before ending late in the afternoon.
The panel of Judges justifiably so, then reserved judgment and adjourned the matter to about 1 month later. This is a good omen for Simon.
Normally, if it is a clear cut case and where the appellate Judges were confident that the High Court Judge had made a correct decision, then the panel of appellate Judge would give decision on the same day of the submission/argument.
Simon reckoned that since the appellate Judge could not give their decision on the same day hence reserving their judgment, it only meant that there are issues bothering the Judges which warranted more time for them to deliberate.
Simon was proven to be correct one month later in July 2020 when the Court of Appeal acquitted Mun Tak in a unanimous decision. The panel of Judges could not satisfy themselves that the conviction was safe.
The Judges found Mun Tak’s contention that he had no knowledge of the illicit drugs in the vehicle to be a plausible defence hence rebutting the presumptions clauses in the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA). The Court of Appeal held that the prosecutors bear the evidential burden in calling Ah Sing to testify which they had failed.
Simon was of course thrilled by the acquittal, his hard work had paid off. It was particularly sweet for him because the prosecutors in Singapore have an admirably high conviction rate in drug cases.
As for Mun Tak, this is the first time he displayed emotion in court, tears started pouring from his face after realising that he has been given a second chance in life. Once the handcuffed was removed, Mun Tak’s first instinct was to turn to the public gallery and hug his mother.
But unless you are living under a rock, time has changed. The world was in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic, international borders were closed and Mun Tak’s mother was not able to travel to Singapore to follow the proceedings.
Due to the social distancing rules enforced, Mun Tak was not even able to shake the hand of his “saviour” who was conducting the case pro bono. Mun Tak’s felt heavily indebted to Simon but has no idea how he could ever repay him except by profusely thanking Simon with his broken English: “Xie xie lawyer, xie xie lawyer (Thank you lawyer, thank you lawyer).”
Because Mun Tak has no one in Singapore and due of the pandemic, Mun Tak could not stay long in Singapore. He was quickly flown back to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia the very next morning via a flight arranged by the embassy.
What he thought was a 1 day dating trip to Singapore back in 2016 turned out to be a 4 years nightmare.
After undergoing the mandatory 14 days quarantine period, Mun Tak was then allowed to travel back to his hometown in Kuala Pilah (about 1 ½ hour away by car) to be together with his family. He has no plan to return to JB or Singapore. His priority now is to spend precious time with his family in Kuala Pilah to make up for the 4 missing years. The 3 to 1 conversation between Ringgit Malaysia and Singapore Dollar which attracted hundreds of thousands of Malaysians to Singapore suddenly seems so meagre and insignificant.
The whole experience was surreal. He was particularly regretful for not having the proper opportunity to thank Simon due the pandemic. Though he still keeps in touch with Simon via messaging apps, Mun Tak is very eager to invite Simon over to Kuala Pilah to treat him with some good food and bring him around Malaysia once the border reopens.
Simon took up the offer of course and the two couldn’t wait to meet each other again, this time not as solicitors & client, but as friends and comrades who had fought in a war together triumphant!
Postscript:
1) This fictional story of Mun Tak is heavily inspired by and written in celebration of the acquittal of Mr Beh Chew Boo on his own drug trafficking acquittal which share a similar facts (Beh Chew Boo v Public Prosecutor [2020] SGCA 98).
2) I am not part of Mr Beh Chew Boo’s superb defence team nor do I have direct access to the case.
3) You may also check out on Mr Beh Chew Boo’s post acquittal interview here: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/03/10/how-i-faced-gallows-in-singapore-for-trying-to-be-cheap-by-ex-convict/
