PUBLIC PROSECUTOR v Ravivarma Govindan

Case Significance

Public Prosecutor v Ravivarma Govindan [2024] SGHC 99 was decided by the General Division of the High Court (Criminal Case No 23 of 2023), with Aedit Abdullah J delivering the grounds of decision on 19 April 2024 after a trial spanning August 2023 to January 2024. The accused, Ravivarma Govindan, claimed trial to two charges of importing a Class A controlled drug under s 7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed), punishable under either s 33(1) or s 33B(1). The first charge concerned the importation into Singapore of three blocks of vegetable matter containing not less than 1,551.0g of cannabis, and the second concerned one bundle. The court convicted the accused on both charges. At sentencing, in light of a certificate of substantive assistance issued by the Public Prosecutor and the court's finding that the accused's involvement was limited to that of a courier under s 33B(2)(a), the court exercised its discretion under s 33B(1)(a) and imposed a global sentence of life imprisonment and 20 strokes of the cane. The accused appealed against both conviction and sentence. The prosecution was conducted by counsel from the Attorney-General's Chambers including Sunil Nair, while the accused was represented by counsel including Skandarajah s/o Selvarajah.