Pubdate: Tue, 04 Jul 2000
Source: Star (Malaysia)
Copyright: 2000 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd.
Contact:  13 Jalan 13/6, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Website: http://www.thestar.com.my
Author: Priscilla Dielenberg

BRITISH NURSE GETS DEATH

PENANG - A British nurse laughed out loud and mockingly
"congratulated'' a High Court judge yesterday after she sentenced him
to death for trafficking in 189.86gm of heroin.

A smiling David Anthony Chell, 56, burst out laughing, then clapped
his hands and exclaimed "Yes'' as soon as Justice Zaleha Zahari
finished speaking at 3pm.

"Well done. You should be ashamed of yourself, madam, you should be
ashamed of yourself. I hope you don't get sleep for a year,'' he cried
out as the judge got up and left the courtroom.

His remarks came immediately after Justice Zaleha said: "The sentence
of this court is that you, David Anthony Chell, shall be taken to
prison and from there to a place where you shall be hanged by the neck
until death.''

Chell, from Stoke-on-Trent, north of London, was found guilty of drug
trafficking at the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas at
3.50pm on Oct 7, 1998.

Local and foreign pressmen as well as representatives from the British
High Commission were present when the judgment was delivered.

In her judgment, Justice Zaleha said the court had to evaluate all
evidence and decide if the prosecution had proven its case beyond
reasonable doubt.

She said the burden of proof was on the prosecution throughout the
case, and it was not for the accused to prove his innocence as he is
innocent until proven guilty.

She expressed satisfaction with the credibility of the arresting
officers who had testified that the accused hid in his underwear a
pouch containing the drugs.

Justice Zaleha said she found no reason for Chell to have been framed
and the prosecution had proven that the accused was trafficking in
heroin on the day he was arrested.

"The accused took a calculated risk of hiding the drugs in his
underwear. If it was in the luggage, it would have been detected by
the X-ray machine,'' she said.

On the defence's submission that a missing page from the airport
auxiliary police department's station diary amounted to destruction of
evidence, Justice Zaleha said she agreed with the prosecution that the
matter was a separate issue.

Chell filed his notice of appeal before he was led out of the
courtroom.

He was represented by counsel Karpal Singh and Jagdeep Singh Deo while
the deputy public prosecutors were Noorbahri Baharuddin and Ahmad
Fairuz Zainol Abidin.
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