Posted by V. Anbalagan on
Today, the Nigerian national was told by the Court of Appeal that he will have to be retried for trafficking drugs, because the High Court judge did not take down in writing the evidence of two prosecution witnesses.
Everest Uka spent nine years in jail waiting for his appeal to be heard.
Today, the Nigerian national was told by the Court of Appeal that he will have to be retried for trafficking drugs, because the High Court judge did not take down in writing the evidence of two prosecution witnesses.
In setting aside the conviction, Court of Appeal judge Datuk Gopal Sri Ram ruled: "There is an irregularity in the trial and we are ordering a retrial."
He also ordered Uka, 43, to be produced at the High Court in Shah Alam tomorrow to be charged again so that an early trial date could be fixed.
Datuk K. Kumaraendran, who was assigned to appear for Uka, told the court that the Nigerian had been languishing in prison for the last nine years.
Uka is alleged to have trafficked in 833g of heroin at a counter of the United Parcel Service building in Petaling Jaya about 11.30am on March 12, 1996.
Trial judge Datuk Low Hop Bing found him guilty on May 2, 2002.
During the trial Uka was represented by Dalip Bhagwan Singh.
Kumaraendran told the court the trial judge failed to write down the evidence of the prosecution witnesses, including the investigating officer.
"The judge failed to adhere to the mandatory provision of Section 272 of the Evidence Act though the counsel who appeared for Uka agreed that a witness' statement be admitted in lieu of taking it down in writing."
He said the right of the accused person should not be held to have been lost by his consent to a procedure or to an admission of evidence which the law did not authorise.
Sitting with Sri Ram were Datuk Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah.
Deputy public prosecutor Manoj Kurup conceded that there was an irregularity and applied for a retrial.