Court clears man of counterfeit beer charge

By BEVERLY PETER
THE National Court has acquitted a Malaysian man on charges of being in possession and dealing with counterfeit South Pacific brewery products (green can beer) in Port Moresby two years ago due to insufficient evidence.
Judge Teresa Berrigan at Waigani yesterday acquitted Shangri La club operations manager Yip Chee Ming Sam of Ipo in Perak, Malaysia, saying that the State had failed to establish the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“There was no evidence to establish where or from whom the counterfeit goods were obtained since November 2019,” Judge Berrigan said.
Yip Chee was charged based on the allegations that on December 2021 police went to the premises of Shangri La club and opened a shipping container in which they found 1,600 cans SP beer that they believed to be counterfeit.
Judge Berrigan said it appeared that when the police had entered the premises with a search warrant and proceeded to cut the lock to access the container after a request for the key was refused.
“It appears that the police entered the premises, broke the container and allowed the seizure of the goods in it without a search warrant. There was no evidence from any of the officers concerned and submission from the State as to why the court should exercise its discretion to allow the evidence,” she said.
She said it seemed that the container had been at the property for a long time because the grass around had grown tall and the boxes look old, but police had no photographic evidence of the alleged container.
“There were numerous other businesses in the same area in which they all have access to the yard and the container. There was no evidence from any of the occupants to show ownership of the container,” Judge Berrigan said.