SINGAPORE: APEX COURT ACQUITS MAN ON DEATH ROW FOR DRUG POSSESSION

In a rare 2-1 decision, the apex court acquitted a man on death row for drug possession.
According to a judgment released on Feb 12, Mr Gopu Jaya Raman successfully proved that he did not know that controlled drugs were hidden in the motorcycle he was riding into Singapore.
He contested the High Court’s judgment for not giving “due weight to evidence” showing that he did not know about the drugs.
On March 24, 2014, Mr Gopu, a Malaysian, was found trying to enter Singapore through Woodlands Checkpoint with three black bundles of diamorphine hidden in his motorcycle’s fender.
When immigration officers stopped him and found the drugs, he said he did not know the drugs were hidden in the motorcycle. Mr Gopu, 28 then, also said the motorcycle was not his.