Bandar Seri Begawan - A local man's conviction yesterday after a trial on two counts of consumption of a Class 'A'. drug and a count of possession of drug apparatus landed him a three-year imprisonment term, and a B$1,000 fine or two months' jail in default of payment.

Yaakub bin Selamat @ Salamat had been contending that urine samples taken, bottled and locked by himself in the presence of Narcotics Control Bureau officers and later sent to the Department of Scientific Services for analysis, were not performed according to procedures.

The court, presided by Senior Magistrate Harnita Zelda Skinner, found that there was no break in the chain of process and that the urine samples were taken according to proper procedures.

The court also found that the apparatus, which the defendant claimed was not in his possession, was presumed to be in the defendant's possession as he was found to have consumed drugs using the apparatus for consumption on the same date.

Yaakub consumed Methylamphetamine on September 3, 2009 and again on May 27, 2010. The apparatus containing traces of brown dried patches was found during the defendant's arrest on May 27, 2010.

The defendant submitted mitigations to the court saying that he had to take care of his ill family members - his wife having a battery operated heart, his son suffering from a mental illness, and his youngest daughter suffering heart problems. The court stated that the defendant should have thought of the seriousness of the offences, and that he also has a previous conviction in the early 2000s, also for drug consumption.

Narcotics Control Bureau Prosecuting Officer Pg Othman Pg Hj Ali prosecuted the case.

--Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin