{
  "id": 3183531,
  "title": "Federal Court narrows scope of duty for trial judges in drug trafficking cases",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/federal-court-narrows-scope-of-duty-for-trial-judges-in-drug-3183531",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-25T03:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/08/25/federal-court-narrows-scope-of-duty-for-trial-judges-in-drug-trafficking-cases"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Federal Court has clarified the responsibilities of trial judges in drug trafficking cases, according to the source. Specifically, Section 180 of the Criminal Procedure Code mandates that judges establish a prima facie case before allowing the accused to present their defence. However, the court ruled that judges do not have a legal obligation to inform the accused, at the conclusion of the prosecution's case, whether the charge is based on actual evidence or a statutory presumption.\n\nThe ruling applies to the case of Julasiri Akilmara, where the majority, consisting of Justices Nordin Hassan and Azmi Ariffin, upheld the drug trafficking conviction. Justice Rhodzariah Bujang, the bench chairman, dissented. According to Justice Azmi, Section 180 does not require a formal declaration from the trial judge about the reliance of the prosecution on actual trafficking or the statutory presumption under Section 37(da) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (DDA).\n\nThe distinction is crucial as it determines the burden of proof for the accused. If the prosecution relies on a statutory presumption, the accused must rebut it based on the balance of probabilities, whereas in cases based on actual trafficking evidence, the accused only needs to cast reasonable doubt. The Federal Court disagreed with the Court of Appeal's previous decision, which deemed the failure to identify the applicable route as fatal, as this requirement is not explicitly stated in the legislation.\n\nThe Court of Appeal had ruled that the omission of specifying the route of trafficking constituted a fatal error in the case of Bong Sing Seng v Public Prosecutor. However, the Federal Court clarified that such a failure does not inherently render the conviction unsafe, provided no prejudice or miscarriage of justice occurs. In Julasiri's case, the majority concluded that there was no prejudice.\n\nJulasiri Akilmara and Aspal Hussam were originally convicted by the High Court in Tawau for trafficking 137.03g of methamphetamine. They were sentenced to 30 years imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane. Julasiri appealed the conviction, which was reduced to possession and sentenced to 12 years in jail by the Court of Appeal, with the exemption of whipping due to his age. The prosecution appealed, and the Federal Court reinstated Julasiri's conviction and 30-year jail term for trafficking.",
  "summary": "Majority says the failure to state whether the trafficking case is based on actual evidence or statutory presumption does not, by itself, invalidate the conviction.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Federal Court narrows scope of duty for trial judges in drug trafficking cases",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/federal-court-narrows-scope-of-duty-for-trial-judges-in-drug",
        "published": "2026-08-25T03:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "SABC News",
        "title": "Court to rule on new cellphone records in Meyiwa murder Trial",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/court-to-rule-on-new-cellphone-records-in-meyiwa-murder-trial",
        "published": "2026-08-25T04:19:53.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}