No plans to amend presumptions under Misuse of Drugs Act for possession: Shanmugam

Courts will decide on the constitutionality of presumptions under Act, says minister

- Samuel Devaraj

A law that shifts the burden of proof to offenders caught with a certain amount of drugs will be defended by the Government amid a constitutional challenge before the Court of Appeal.

In a ministerial statement on April 8, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said there are no plans to amend the law, but he added that the courts will decide on the constitutionality of presumptions under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA).

Under the law, a person who is proven to be in possession of certain things containing a controlled drug is presumed to have had that drug in his possession, until he proves the contrary.

The law also states that any individual who has in possession an amount of drugs that crosses certain thresholds, for example, 2g of diamorphine, is presumed to be trafficking the illicit substance.

Mr Shanmugam said the presumptions deal with the accused's knowledge of the nature of the drugs and address challenges in proving certain facts that are exclusively within the accused person's knowledge, of which it would not be practical for the prosecution to obtain direct evidence.