Since (i) and (ii) were not disputed by the Defence, I only had to decide whether the Accused had the requisite mens rea for the offence. In considering this issue, I had to consider two differing versions of the sale transaction. Under the circumstances, I carefully scrutinised the evidence adduced before the Court and after doing so I preferred the evidence of Lee as opposed to the Accused.
24 Before stating my reasons, I would like to state that although it was the Accused’s defence that he had not purchased the handphones from Lee and that he was merely a conduit for the sale, this fact did not affect the charge against him. This was because the Defence did not dispute the fact that the Accused had indeed received the handphones from the Accused at his shop for the purposes of sale. His claim of being the middleman for the Chinese businessman, therefore, was only relevant in accessing his mens rea and the credibility of Lee’s evidence.