R v Tan

The accused in this case, Kok Cheng Tan, applied for a permanent stay of the retrial of a charge of possession of ecstasy under the Customs Act 1901, after being acquitted of a related charge of being knowingly concerned in the importation of narcotics. The court was required to decide whether the retrial of the possession charge was consistent with the principle against double jeopardy and whether it would constitute an abuse of process. The court examined the legal principles surrounding double jeopardy, issue estoppel, and abuse of process, and considered whether the retrial would be foredoomed to fail. The court concluded that the retrial of the possession charge did not involve impermissible double jeopardy or constitute an abuse of process, and that the evidence was capable of sustaining a guilty verdict on the possession charge. The application for a permanent stay was dismissed.