JUDGE DISMISSES DRUG CHARGES BECAUSE POLICE BROKE DOWN DOOR

CHILLIWACK -- Charges of running a marijuana-growing operation in Mission
have been thrown out by a B.C. Supreme Court judge because police got a bit
hasty with their battering ram.

In a Jan. 20 oral decision released Tuesday, Justice B.M. Joyce dismissed
charges against a husband and wife after finding the house search that
turned up the evidence was unreasonable.

Li Qing Mai and her husband Zhi Wen Tang had been charged with unlawful
production of marijuana, possession of marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking, and theft of electricity.

They asked the court to exclude the evidence the police found -- "a modest
size marijuana grow operation in the basement" -- under a section of the
Charter of Rights. Section 24 instructs courts to exclude evidence that is
obtained in a way that infringes or denies any rights guaranteed under the
charter.

The accused said the search breached their rights "to be secure against
unreasonable search and seizure."

The judge said that when police arrived at the home on Jan. 12, 2003, armed
with a search warrant and a 41-kilogram battering ram, they knew they had
to wait long enough for the occupants of the house to respond to their
demand that the door be opened.

He said they had no reason to fear for their safety from the occupants, a
husband and wife who turned out to be watching TV at the time. However,
Joyce said, the police command to open the door was followed by the door
being smashed open "only a second or two" later.