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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1979 |
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Appeal dismissed; court found appellant an armed aggressor, accepting eyewitness and dying declaration evidence.
* Criminal law – Murder – Credibility of eyewitness and dying declaration – Admissibility and weight of dying declaration in proving identity of assailant; conflicting accused statements and undermining of self‑defence plea.
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13 December 1979 |
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Reported
Criminal Law - Murder - Plea of self-defence - use· of excessive force - Accused honestly and reasonably believed he was defending himself - Whether conviction of murder or manslaughter.
Criminal Law - Murder - Plea of self-defence - Use of excessive force - Accused honestly and reasonably believed he was defending himself - Test of honest and reasonable belief - subjective.
Evidence - Onus of proof - Excessive and lethal use of force - Onus rests throughout on the· prosecution.
Police Force Ordinance - Application to peoples' militia. |
1 December 1979 |
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Court quashed murder conviction: nighttime identification and circumstantial evidence did not exclude reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Circumstantial evidence – Identification in darkness – Reliability of witness identification; conduct after offence – flight or fear; lies and missing weapon – weight in circumstantial case; reasonable doubt; appellate intervention when evidence does not irresistibly point to guilt.
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1 December 1979 |
| November 1979 |
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Circumstantial evidence must exclude reasonable alternative perpetrators; unexplained contradictory physical evidence rendered conviction unsafe.
* Criminal law — Murder — Conviction based on circumstantial evidence — Inculpatory facts must be incompatible with innocence and exclude reasonable alternative hypotheses. * Evidence — Contradictory testimony about physical exhibits (underpants) — Unexplained contradictions can render circumstantial case unsafe. * Proof — Necessity to link physical evidence to accused for exclusion of other perpetrators.
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22 November 1979 |
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Appellants' plausible explanations defeated inference from recent possession; convictions quashed for inadequate evaluation of the defence.
* Criminal law – theft – doctrine of recent possession – recent possession does not automatically convict; a reasonable explanation must be fairly considered. * Appellate review – evaluation of credibility and weighing of defence evidence – convictions unsafe where lower courts fail to properly assess defence. * Burden of proof – prosecution must establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt; possession plus plausible explanation insufficient.
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22 November 1979 |
Criminal Practice and Procedure-Effect of non-representation by counsel in murder case.. Criminal Practice and Procedure-Lack of representation by counsel in the case of one of several accused charged with murder-Appeal Court orders retrial for the convict who was not represented by counsel-Effect on the appeal by the other convicts. |
22 November 1979 |
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The applicant's appeal is dismissed; credible eyewitness and conduct established malice despite intoxication defence.
* Criminal law – murder – distinguishing accidental injury from intentional stabbing – assessment of wounds and scene evidence. * Evidence – credibility of eyewitness testimony and handling of apparent contradictions. * Intention – malice aforethought inferred from weapon, wounds and post-offence conduct. * Intoxication – voluntary drunkenness did not negate capacity to form intent where conduct shows awareness. * Evidence Act s.154 – prior written/extra-judicial statements not produced at trial cannot be used on appeal to contradict witness.
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22 November 1979 |
Criminal Law - Manslaughter - Causation Death as a result of running away from a fight - Whether accused caused the death thereof. Criminal Practice and Procedure - Assessors - Failure of trial court to invite assessors to express their opinions - Consequences of such failure - Criminal Procedure Code, s. 283. |
21 November 1979 |
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21 November 1979 |
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Appellant's forgery conviction quashed for lack of intent; two theft convictions upheld on evidential grounds.
* Criminal law – Forgery – Requirement of fraudulent intent – Alteration showing a larger amount received may negate intent to defraud. * Criminal law – Stealing by servant – Evidence required to sustain conviction; appellate deference to concurrent findings. * Evidence – Relevance of documentary proof – Inconsistent dates render vouchers irrelevant to defence.
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7 November 1979 |
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Appellant’s intrusion defence rejected; conviction for theft by public servant upheld on credibility and sufficiency of evidence.
Criminal law – Theft by public servant (Penal Code ss. 270, 265) – Credibility of accused’s explanation of third‑party intrusion – Appellate deference to trial court findings of fact and credibility.
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7 November 1979 |
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Conviction based on a single, unreliable identification at dusk was unsafe; convictions quashed and appellant released.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – Reliability of identification by a single witness seen for the first time at dusk under parking lights – Need for caution where conviction rests solely on such evidence; lack of corroboration renders conviction unsafe. * Criminal law – Insufficient evidence – Conviction quashed where no evidence supported a charged count.
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7 November 1979 |
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Court upheld findings that victims were drugged, supporting theft convictions, and dismissed the appellants' appeal.
* Criminal law – Theft – property taken from persons allegedly drugged – capacity and consent; inference of administration of a noxious substance from circumstances.
* Appellate review – concurrent findings of fact – when appellate court will not disturb lower courts' factual conclusions.
* Defence of voluntary payment versus duress/incapacity resulting from drugs.
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7 November 1979 |
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Court upheld finding that victims were drugged and dismissed the appellants' appeal against theft convictions.
Criminal law – Theft – Administration of noxious drug rendering victims incapable of consenting; Appellate review – concurrent findings of fact – will not be disturbed if supported by credible evidence; Credibility assessments – defence alternative explanations of voluntary payment held marginal; Evidence – inference of stupefaction from circumstances.
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7 November 1979 |
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Exclusion of a police confession did not undermine conviction; discovery‑led confession and other evidence supported murder verdict.
Criminal law – Murder of a newborn – Admissibility of extra‑judicial confessions – Evidence Act 1967, ss.27, 28 (confessions) and s.31 (discovery) – Discovery rule can render confession‑derived facts admissible even if confession is otherwise inadmissible – sufficiency of corroborative evidence (wife’s statement, discovery, autopsy).
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7 November 1979 |
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Conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove appellant received the alleged stolen monies; demeanour cannot supply missing proof.
Criminal law – theft by public servant – necessity of proving receipt/possession of alleged monies – prosecution’s burden of proof; accused’s unsatisfactory demeanour cannot substitute for missing evidence; unproduced documents not admissible against accused.
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7 November 1979 |
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An appellant's extra‑judicial confession, corroborated by possession and flight, sustains murder conviction under section 23.
* Criminal law – extra-judicial statement – voluntariness and admissibility; corroboration by recent possession and flight; joint liability for murder under section 23 of the Penal Code.
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7 November 1979 |
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Reported
Evidence - Alibi - Unsworn statement - No evidence to support alibi
Evidence - Confession - Repudiated confession - Whether can support conviction
Evidence - Repudiated confession - Requires corroboration as a matter of prudence
Evidence - Repudiated confession - Exculpatory statements of co-accused - Cannot corroborate |
6 November 1979 |
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A court must assess prosecution evidence before convicting an appellant solely because his defence was disbelieved.
Criminal law – Murder – Conviction cannot be based solely on disbelief of accused; trial court must assess prosecution evidence; appellate court on first appeal may re‑assess evidence and credibility where demeanour need not be evaluated; evidence of presence, lighting, weapon and wound nature can establish knowledge and malice aforethought.
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6 November 1979 |
| October 1979 |
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Concurrent factual findings of possession of stolen property shortly after a break-in supported dismissal of the appeal.
Criminal law – possession of recently stolen property – credibility findings – appellate interference with concurrent findings of fact – propriety of summary dismissal of appeal – adjournment on medical grounds.
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25 October 1979 |
| March 1979 |
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Deportation Ordinance-Detention pending deportationSs. 2 and 5 Deportation Ordinance (Cap. 38)-Deportation order not appellable-Detention pending-Deportation lawful. Deportation Ordinance-Identification of deportee Certainly of identity necessary. |
22 March 1979 |
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Reported
Civil Practice and Procedure - Delay in the trial of a suit - Observations.
Civil Practice and Procedure - Concurrent findings of facts by two courts - What appeal court to do - Rule or practice.
Landlord and Tenant - Sub-tenant partitioning and subletting portion of premises without consent of tenant - Whether lawful sub-tenancy created.
Rent Restriction - Unlawful sub-tenancy - Whether sub-tenant protected - Rent Restriction Act, 1962.
Rent Restriction - Order for vacant possession - Whether trespasser protected - Rent Restriction Act 1962, s. 19(2).
Acquisition of Buildings - Registrar stepping into the shoes of the owner - Whether trespasser sub-tenants may be accepted as lawful tenants by Registrar.
Landlord and Tenant - Notice to quit - Rent accepted after notice - Whether amounts to waiver.
Tender - Meaning - Effect. |
10 March 1979 |
| January 1979 |
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1 January 1979 |