Justice Hasbullah Adam affirmed a magistrate’s decision to acquit Redzuan Anuar, who was charged with self-administring methamphetamine under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, at the end of the prosecution’s case.

The court held that the lower court was correct in finding that Redzuan was not “properly” arrested for the purpose of conducting a drug test, as required under the law.

Hasbullah also said there were no tip-offs or reasonable grounds suggesting that Redzuan, a public servant, was abusing drugs to justify his arrest.

“In the absence of reasonable grounds to suspect anyone of committing a crime, the police ought not to execute such an arrest, as he is entitled to the protection of fundamental liberty under the Federal Constitution,” he said.

According to the facts of the case, officers from the state police’s integrity and standards compliance department took Redzuan to the Tanah Merah police headquarters for a urine test on June 26, 2020.

The initial urine test conducted by the narcotics department at the headquarters returned positive for methamphetamine.

The specimen was later sent to the pathology department at Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital for further analysis, which detected both amphetamine and methamphetamine.

The magistrates’ court acquitted Redzuan last year after ruling that there were doubts over the integrity of the specimen due to delays in sending it for analysis, as well as discrepancies between the drugs found and the original charge.