CRIMINAL LITIGATION

The prosecution case was that bank notes in the accused’s possession had tested positive for the presence of heroin. The forensic test had been video-taped. However, the video had been lost.

The defence was unable to carry out its own tests on the bank notes because they had been tested using a spray that would make subsequent testing impossible. The defence therefore submitted that a fair trial could not take place.

HELD The proceedings did not constitute an abuse of process: the defendant still had adequate means to challenge the prosecution case, since the forensic scientist who conducted the tests on the bank notes could have been questioned about the way she conducted those tests and how she had reached her results.

Moreover, the court would have been able to make adequate allowance for the fact that the defendant had not been able to see a video of the tests being carried out or to carry out its own tests.