Court of Appeal Revokes Bail for Wheelchair-Bound Drug Accused

The Court of Appeal on Thursday (Oct 22) revoked the bail of a wheelchair-bound man facing a drug trafficking charge and ordered him to be held in custody until the end of his trial, Bernama reported.

A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Dr Choo Kah Sing, K. Muniandy and Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar unanimously allowed the prosecution’s appeal and set aside the High Court’s decision granting bail to M. Alagesan, 44. On the defence’s application, he will be placed at Sungai Buloh Prison.

Court of Appeal Bail Ruling

Delivering the decision, Choo held that the High Court judge had erred in relying on Section 388 of the Criminal Procedure Code to allow bail when an express law governs bail in drug trafficking cases.

He said the High Court’s decision went against Section 41B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which provides that bail shall not be granted to an accused charged under the Act with an offence punishable by death or life imprisonment with not less than 12 strokes of the cane. Choo said Section 2 of the same Act gives the provision effect notwithstanding any other written law or rule of law.

The RM150,000 bail deposit is to be returned and all bail conditions imposed earlier are revoked.

Accused Paralysed From Waist Down, Says Lawyer

Lawyer Datuk Naran Singh, assisted by Amrick Singh Sandu, argued that the court retains inherent power to grant bail in exceptional circumstances. He said Alagesan is paralysed from the waist down and cannot squat, while standard prison toilets have squatting facilities.

Deputy public prosecutor Hafizah Johor Ariff Johor argued that Section 41B(1)(a) is a mandatory bar for offences carrying the death penalty. She said the High Court’s ruling would open the door for thousands of detainees charged under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act to seek bail on subjective health grounds.

Trial Court Told to Fix Early Date

“This court ordered the trial court to fix an early hearing date,” Choo said, adding that the trial should be completed by the end of this year if possible, given the accused’s health.

Naran Singh told the court that trial dates had been fixed for Feb 17 to 19 and March 24 to 26, 2027, and asked for an earlier hearing.

Alagesan was charged with trafficking 6.276kg of cannabis at a house in Kg KL Tin Kalumpang, Kuala Kubu Baru, Hulu Selangor, on Feb 7, 2024. On Sept 23, 2024, the Shah Alam High Court allowed him bail of RM150,000 with two sureties, on condition that he report to the nearest police station, surrender his passport and stay at home from 7pm to 7am.

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