A tiler’s appeal against his 30-year sentence for trafficking over 1kg of cannabis is dismissed, with the court outlining strict guilty plea guidelines.
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has upheld a 30-year prison sentence and 12 strokes of the cane for a man convicted of trafficking 1,024.60 grammes of cannabis.
A three-judge panel dismissed Teh Geok Chin’s appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Justice Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan stated that Teh, who chose to plead guilty, was barred from appealing the conviction itself under Section 305 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
He explained an appellate court may only set aside a conviction if the trial court failed to follow the specific procedure under Section 173(b) of the CPC.
Justice Mohamed Zaini found the High Court had correctly adhered to the required legal procedure in Teh’s case.
“The charge was read and explained to the appellant in his preferred language, namely Mandarin,” he said in the grounds of judgment.
“The appellant also understood the consequences of his guilty plea.”
Regarding the sentence, the judge said the appeal could not be considered as the High Court had imposed the minimum punishment allowed by law.
He noted the High Court had only two sentencing options: the death penalty or life imprisonment with whipping.
The High Court sentenced the 47-year-old tiler in October 2023 for the offence committed at a Johor Bahru apartment on April 18, 2019.
Teh was jointly charged with another individual who was later discharged and acquitted.
After initially claiming trial, Teh changed his plea to guilty following a successful representation to the Attorney General’s Chambers.
In his judgment, Justice Mohamed Zaini also outlined a 17-point guideline for trial judges handling guilty pleas in serious criminal cases.
The guideline, based on the Criminal Procedure Code and case law, aims to ensure procedural integrity.
It states the court must verify the charge is valid and correctly framed according to legal rules.
Judges must read and explain the charge in a language the accused understands, covering all essential elements of the offence.
The court must ensure the accused fully comprehends the charge, the consequences of a guilty plea, and the potential punishment, including mandatory sentences.
Justice Mohamed Zaini emphasised the trial record must clearly show all outlined steps were followed to ensure transparency.
Any failure to adhere to these guidelines may undermine the validity of the guilty plea and the subsequent conviction.
