Lau v The State of Western Australia

In Lau v The State of Western Australia, the appellant, Lau, was convicted by a jury in the Supreme Court of Western Australia of one count of possessing a prohibited drug with intent to sell or supply it to another and one count of possession of cash reasonably suspected of being unlawfully obtained. The appellant appealed against his conviction, contending that the trial judge should have directed the jury on the defence of duress as provided in section 32 of the Criminal Code (WA). The central legal issue was whether the trial judge had erred by not directing the jury on the defence of duress and whether the appellant had discharged the evidential burden in relation to the defence.

The court found that the defence of duress is not applicable to charges under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 (WA). The court held that the defence of duress, as outlined in section 32 of the Criminal Code (WA), is not available for offences involving the possession of a prohibited drug with intent to sell or supply it to another. The court concluded that the trial judge did not err in not directing the jury on the defence of duress because it was not a legally available defence for the charges against the appellant. Furthermore, the court held that even if the defence of duress was applicable, the appellant had not discharged the evidential burden to make out a case for the jury on the defence of duress.

The appeal was dismissed. The court upheld the conviction, finding that the trial judge had not erred in not directing the jury on the defence of duress, and that the appellant had not discharged the evidential burden in relation to the defence. The conviction and sentence were affirmed.