EIGHT years after retiring from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), Mr John Cheong, 57, was 'recalled' to testify in a re-trial of convicted drug trafficker Yunani Abdul Hamid.
It was a case Mr Cheong had handled in 1992 while he was an investigator at CNB, where he worked for about 30 years.

Judge of Appeal V.K. Rajah had quashed Yunani's conviction last month and sent the case back to the Subordinate Courts for another hearing.

The judge said he had 'serious doubts' about Yunani's guilt because of the long lapse in prosecution, and ordered a re-trial.

The hearing into an offence which allegedly happened 16 years ago began last Thursday.

Mr Cheong, who retired in 2000 as station inspector, took the stand on Thursday to explain why he did not try to determine who owned a backpack, which contained a slab of cannabis, in 1992.

This would have helped to establish who the bag, and the drugs, belonged to as Yunani and his friend, Abdul Aziz Idros, both said it was not theirs.

The bag was found on a motorcycle both men were on after leaving work together. They fled after an officer stopped them and found the drugs.

Read the full report in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.