Recent cases in which accused have walked free
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
SEPTEMBER 2020 Nigerian Ilechukwu Uchechukwu Chukwudi was cleared of a capital drug trafficking charge.
In a 4-1 split decision, the Court of Appeal reversed its 2015 decision to convict him.
The majority ruled that its past verdict can no longer stand after new evidence surfaced that Mr Ilechukwu was suffering from post-traumatic stress symptoms when he lied to narcotics officers in 2011.
Mr Ilechukwu was arrested in 2011 after nearly 2kg of methamphetamine was found in his suitcase.
OCTOBER 2020 Malaysian Beh Chew Boo was cleared of a capital charge over importing 499.97g of methamphetamine after the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction.
Mr Beh was arrested in 2016 riding into Singapore on a motorcycle, which contained a bag of different drugs.
The apex court accepted that he was not aware of the drugs, noting that the bike was borrowed and the DNA found on the bundles was not his.
He was freed in March last year after the court dismissed a bid by prosecutors to revive other non-capital charges.
MAY 2021 Malaysian bus driver Mangalagiri Dhruva Kumar was acquitted by the High Court of trafficking not less than 22.73g of heroin.
Mr Mangalagiri was identified by a drug suspect as the person who handed her two packets of drugs.
The judge said the suspect's evidence was not reliable.
The acquittal was upheld on appeal.