Court of Appeal revokes bail for wheelchair-bound man charged with trafficking 6.2kg of cannabis

The Court of Appeal in Putrajaya overturned a High Court decision that granted bail to M.

Alagesan, a wheelchair-bound man facing drug trafficking charges, and ordered him to be held in custody.

The three-judge panel, led by Justice Datuk Choo Kah Sing, ruled that the High Court misapplied legal provisions by allowing bail contrary to the Dangerous Drugs Act, which mandates that bail must not be granted for offences punishable by death or life imprisonment.

Although the appeal court acknowledged the defendant's medical condition, it mandated his detention at Sungai Buloh Hospital until trial, further instructing the trial court to expedite proceedings.

The bail sum of RM150,000 was ordered to be returned following this decision.

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 22 — The Court of Appeal today overturned a High Court decision that had released a wheelchair-bound man on bail pending the disposal of his drug trafficking trial.

A three-man bench led by Justice Datuk Choo Kah Sing, alongside K. Muniandy and Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar, allowed the prosecution’s appeal to set aside the High Court’s ruling and ordered M. Alagesan to be remanded in custody.

Justice Choo, who delivered the unanimous decision, however, granted the defence’s application for Alagesan to be placed at the Sungai Buloh Hospital until the conclusion of his trial.

He held that the High Court judge erred in applying Section 388 of the Criminal Procedure Code to allow bail when there is an express law dealing with bail for drug trafficking offences.

He said the High Court’s decision was against the provision of Section 41B (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which states that bail shall not be granted to an accused person charged under the Act with an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment with not less than 12 strokes of the cane.

Justice Choo said Section 2 of the same Act stated that this subsection shall have the effect notwithstanding any written laws or any rule of law to the contrary.

The court ordered the RM150,000 bail deposited to be returned and revoked all previously imposed bail conditions.

“This court ordered the trial court to fix an early hearing date to complete the trial by the end of this year if possible considering the health condition of the accused,” Justice Choo said.

Earlier, lawyer Datuk Naran Singh, assisted by Amrick Singh Sandu, told the court that the trial dates have been scheduled for Feb 17 to 19 and March 24 to 26, 2027, and requested the court to issue a directive for the trial to be heard earlier.

Alagesan, 44, was charged with trafficking in 6.276 kg of cannabis at a house in Kg KL Tin Kalumpang, Kuala Kubu Baru, Hulu Selangor, Selangor on Feb 7, 2024.

On Sept 23, 2024, the Shah Alam High Court allowed Alagesan’s application to be released on bail pending disposal of his trial with RM150,000 with two sureties and imposed additional conditions including reporting to the nearest police station, surrendering his passport, and remaining at home from 7 pm to 7 am.

During proceedings, deputy public prosecutor Hafizah Johor Ariff Johor argued that Section 41B(1)(a) establishes a mandatory restriction that completely denies the right to bail for offences carrying the death penalty under the Dangerous Drugs Act, thereby divesting the High Court of any discretionary power to release the accused on bail pending completion of the trial.

She said that the High Court’s decision to grant bail in this case is a departure from established legal principles and it would open the door for thousands of detainees facing charges under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drug Act to apply for bail on subjective health grounds, thereby crippling Parliament’s intention to combat serious drug crimes.

In response, Naran Singh contended that despite the statutory prohibition under Section 41B, the court retains the inherent power to grant bail under exceptional circumstances.

He said Alagesan was paralysed from the waist down and was unable to squat, noting that standard prison toilets are equipped with squatting facilities. — Bernama

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布城上诉法院推翻了高等法院准予M保释的裁决。

阿拉格桑是一名坐轮椅的男子，面临贩毒指控，法官下令将其拘留。

由法官拿督朱嘉星领导的三名法官组成的小组裁定，高等法院错误地适用法律条款，允许违反《危险药物法令》的保释，该法令规定，对于可判处死刑或终身监禁的罪行，不得准予保释。

虽然上诉法院承认被告的健康状况，但还是下令将其拘留在双溪毛糯医院直至审判，并进一步指示审判法院加快审理程序。

根据这项裁决，15万令吉的保释金被勒令退还。

布城，10月22日讯——上诉法院今日推翻了高等法院的一项裁决，该裁决曾允许一名坐轮椅的男子保释，等待其贩毒案的审理结果。

由法官拿督朱嘉星（Datuk Choo Kah Sing）和K. Muniandy、Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar组成的三人法庭，准许控方的上诉，推翻高等法院的裁决，并下令将M. Alagesan还押候审。

法官朱（Choo）做出了一致裁决，批准了辩方的申请，将阿拉格桑安置在双溪毛糯医院，直到审判结束。

他认为高等法院法官错误地适用《刑事诉讼法》第 388 条允许保释，因为有明确的法律规定了毒品贩运罪的保释问题。

他说，高等法院的裁决违反了《危险药物法》第 41B (1) (a) 条的规定，该条规定，根据该法被控犯有可判处死刑或终身监禁并处以不少于 12 下鞭刑的罪行的被告人不得获得保释。

朱法官表示，同一法案第2条规定，本款的效力不受任何成文法或法律规则的约束。

法庭下令退还已缴纳的15万令吉保释金，并撤销之前施加的所有保释条件。

“考虑到被告的健康状况，本庭命令审判法院尽早确定开庭日期，以便尽可能在今年年底前完成审判，”朱法官说。

此前，律师拿督纳兰·辛格（Datuk Naran Singh）在阿姆里克·辛格·桑杜（Amrick Singh Sandu）的协助下告诉法庭，审判日期已定于 2027 年 2 月 17 日至 19 日和 3 月 24 日至 26 日，并请求法庭发出指令，提前进行审判。

44 岁的 Alagesan 被控于 2024 年 2 月 7 日在雪兰莪州 Hulu Selangor Kg KL Tin Kalumpang, Kuala Kubu Baru, Kg KL Tin Kalumpang 的一间房屋贩运 6.276 公斤大麻。

2024 年 9 月 23 日，莎阿南高等法院批准了阿拉格桑的保释申请，允许他以 15 万令吉的保释金和两名担保人保释，等待审判结果。法院还附加了一些条件，包括向最近的警察局报到、交出护照以及晚上 7 点至早上 7 点待在家中。

在庭审过程中，副检察官哈菲扎·柔佛·阿里夫·柔佛辩称，第 41B(1)(a) 条规定了一项强制性限制，完全剥夺了根据《危险毒品法令》可判处死刑的罪行获得保释的权利，从而剥夺了高等法院在审判完成前释放被告的任何自由裁量权。

她表示，高等法院在此案中准予保释的决定背离了既定的法律原则，这将为成千上万面临《危险药物法》第 39B 条指控的被拘留者以主观健康理由申请保释打开大门，从而削弱议会打击严重毒品犯罪的意图。

对此，纳兰·辛格辩称，尽管第 41B 条有法定禁止，但法院在特殊情况下仍保留准予保释的固有权力。

他说，阿拉格桑腰部以下瘫痪，无法蹲下，并指出监狱的标准厕所都配备了蹲式设施。——马新社

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