Prosecution appeals against reduced charges in Metro scion’s drug case
Metro family scion Ong Jenn had enough cannabis at home to last him up to seven months, yet he ordered more drugs from his supplier, enough to feed his habit for up to another 10 months.
A prosecutor highlighted this to the High Court yesterday, arguing that it was absurd for Ong to be "stockpiling" so much drugs - enough for 17 months - just for his own consumption.
Ong, 43, originally faced two charges of abetment to traffic in controlled drugs - 92.68g of cannabis and 385.1g of cannabis mixture.
His supplier, Mohamad Ismail Abdul Majid, called him in October 2014 to ask if he wanted to buy cannabis. Ong agreed to buy 500g for $5,000. Ismail was arrested before delivering the drugs.
After a six-day trial, a district judge accepted Ong's explanation that the drugs were solely for his own consumption and reduced the charges to that of attempted possession in May last year.
Ong is serving a two-year jail term after pleading guilty to the reduced charges.
The prosecution has appealed, arguing that Ong should be convicted of the original charges of abetment of trafficking, which carries a minimum sentence of five years' jail and five strokes of the cane on each count.
Yesterday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kow Keng Siong argued that text messages between Ong and two female friends show that he agreed to sell or share the cannabis with them. The DPP said the sheer quantity of the drugs gives rise to the inference that Ong had ordered the drugs from Mohamad Ismail for the purpose of trafficking.
Justice Hoo Sheau Peng will make a decision on the appeal at a later date.
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