The court of appeal here today: upheld the 10-year jail term and 11 strokes of the cane imposed on a former police lance corporal for possessing 54.86 grammes of cannabis. A three-man bench led by Justice Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz, and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid dismissed Muhamad Taufiq Abdoll Hamid's appeal against his conviction and sentence.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Justice Noorin, in delivering the unanimous decision, stated that there was no reason to disturb the findings of both the Sessions Court and High Court. She emphasized that the alleged discrepancies concerning the credibility of the raiding officer did not affect the evidence relating to the discovery of the drugs or the appellant's knowledge of the drugs. Additionally, she noted that there was no break in the chain of custody of the drugs and that the defence advanced by the appellant had failed to raise any reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case.

Muhamad Taufiq, 30, was found guilty by the Sessions Court of possessing the drugs at Jalan Cangkul, Section 19, Shah Alam, Selangor at 9.30 pm on September 8, 2023. The Sessions Court sentenced him to 10 years in jail and 11 strokes of the cane on March 27, 2025. The High Court subsequently dismissed his appeal and upheld the Sessions Court's decision on December 9, last year.

According to the facts of the case, acting on information received, a police team conducted surveillance and observed the appellant standing by the roadside in a suspicious manner, holding an item in his right hand and a mobile phone in the other. About half an hour later, the police raided the area and arrested the appellant. The item was subsequently sent to the Chemistry Department for analysis and was confirmed to contain cannabis.

In his defence, Muhamad Taufiq claimed that he had just picked up the item from the ground and was about to call the police to report the discovery of the drugs. Lawyer Khairul Azry Haziq Khairulzaman, representing Muhamad Taufiq, submitted that the appellant's conduct during and after his arrest raised a reasonable doubt as to the elements of possession, control, custody, and knowledge of the drugs. However, deputy public prosecutor Mohamed Aznin Mohamed Ariff argued that the appellant's testimony - that while loitering outside the house, he saw the item on the ground, believed that someone might have dropped it, became suspicious of its contents, and intended to report it to the police - amounted to nothing more than a bare denial.