A DRUG charge should never have been brought against a man who did not realise the prescribed tranquilliser to settle his nerves contained an ingredient recently listed as a dangerous drug, the High Court heard yesterday.
Tsui Kin-ping, 35, said he had been wrongly advised to plead guilty by counsel representing him at his trial, when he had a perfectly good defence to rebut the allegation.
Since the Crown did not support the conviction, it was quashed by Mr Justice Leong who declined to order a retrial and pointed out that no layman would take the pills prescribed by a doctor for analysis.
Mr Tsui, a construction company owner, had pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a dangerous drug and was given an absolute discharge by magistrate Paul Kelly who also ordered him to pay $750 costs.
Mr Tsui was stopped at the Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal Customs departure hall late on May 9 for a routine search.
He was arrested when 73 Valium tablets, containing 0.17 grams of diazepam - a scheduled dangerous drug - were found on him.
