Court orders retrial in drug case due to ‘bogus counsel’

The Court of Appeal rules the original trial a nullity after finding that one of the accused was represented by an unauthorised person.

Justice Azmi Ariffin said in the Court of Appeal that the issue was not about competency, but about the legality of the representation.

PUTRAJAYA:

 The Court of Appeal today set aside the drug trafficking convictions and 30-year sentences of two friends, sending their case back to the High Court for a full retrial.

A three-member bench comprising Justices Azmi Ariffin, Noorin Badaruddin and Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid ruled the original trial a nullity after finding that one of the accused had been represented by an unauthorised person.

Delivering the court’s decision, Azmi said the individual who represented Mohd Najmi Abd Rahim had no legal standing under the Legal Profession Act 1976, yet played an active defence counsel role throughout the trial.

He said the trial’s integrity was fundamentally compromised as an accused was represented by a “bogus counsel”, rendering the entire proceeding a nullity.

“The issue before the court is not about competency, but about the legality of the representation itself,” he said.

Consequently, Azmi held that the convictions and sentences against Muhammad Zarif Mohd Noor Ajala and Najmi were to be set aside, and the case was to be remitted to the Seremban High Court for a retrial.

He fixed Feb 24 for a case mention at the Seremban High Court and issued warrants of remand for both appellants pending the new trial.

On Aug 18, 2023, the High Court had convicted Zarif, 48, and Najmi, 38, of trafficking 768.9gm of methamphetamine, sentencing each to 30 years’ imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane.

According to the charge sheet, the offence was committed at a fast-food outlet along Persiaran Pusat Bandar Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, at 3.45pm on Sept 18, 2018.

Najmi was also sentenced to a further two years’ imprisonment and three strokes of the cane for possessing 13.11gm of the same drug at the same place, date and time, with the sentences to run concurrently.

During today’s proceedings, Najmi’s counsel, R Palaya, sought to adduce fresh evidence. He submitted that he had only discovered his client’s previous representative was not a legally qualified practitioner after the person was arrested.

He said the individual was subsequently charged and fined last year for three offences, including a breach of the Legal Profession Act 1976.

Deputy public prosecutor Abdul Malik Ayob, however, submitted that other qualified counsel had also represented Najmi during the High Court trial.

Zarif’s lawyer, Goh Cia Yee, supported Palaya’s application for a retrial. - FMT