Muhammad Rajis Abdullah was acquitted of failing to provide a blood sample after his October 8, 2022 arrest for drink-driving because police did not have explicit authorization from his attending doctor at the hospital [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
He was stopped at a police checkpoint where he failed a preliminary breath test and was arrested. At police headquarters later that day, he suffered sudden weakness and was taken to hospital [5]. While in hospital, police officers requested his blood sample three times, warning him of penalties including imprisonment, fines, and licence suspension if he refused [5].
Under the Road Traffic Act, police must obtain explicit approval from the registered medical practitioner in charge before compelling a hospital patient to provide breath or blood specimens. The prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the doctor authorized the taking of the blood sample [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The judge emphasized that a doctor’s passive silence or failure to object does not count as authorization [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
District Judge Prem Raj Prabakaran ruled: “If authorisation is refused by the registered medical practitioner, a police officer cannot lawfully compel the arrested person who is at a hospital as a patient to provide a breath or blood specimen” [1].
The statutory safeguard prioritizes patient care and welfare over enforcement efforts, the judge explained [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The prosecution did not appeal the January 26, 2023 acquittal decision [1, 2, 3, 4].
On May 18, 2026, the judge issued detailed written grounds explaining the legal reasoning behind the acquittal and the importance of explicit doctor consent in such cases [1, 2, 3, 4].
