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Citation
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Judgment date
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| July 1985 |
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Identification corroborated by recovered clothing and an incriminating prison letter warranted dismissal of the appellant's appeal.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – sufficiency and reliability where observation occurred at dusk and corroborated by recovery of clothing. Criminal law – Admissibility and probative value of a letter from custody – use to rebut alibi and show fabrication. Criminal appeal – assessment of totality of evidence and entitlement of trial court to reject alibi.
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26 July 1985 |
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Identification corroborated by recovered clothing and a prison letter undermining the alibi; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – identification evidence – reliability of eyewitness identification at dusk and corroboration by recovered clothing. Criminal procedure – admissibility of documentary evidence – prison letter alleged to procure false testimony. Defence of alibi – assessment and rejection where inconsistencies and fabrication are shown. Appeal – safety of conviction where identification and corroborative evidence are strong.
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26 July 1985 |
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Appellate court upheld manslaughter conviction, finding defence an afterthought and ten-year sentence not excessive.
Criminal law – Manslaughter; assessment of witness credibility and materiality of inconsistencies – afterthought defence rejected as not raised in prosecution case; sentence not manifestly excessive.
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26 July 1985 |
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An eight-year manslaughter sentence for a provoked killing was excessive and replaced with immediate release.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Excessive sentence – appellate intervention to reduce sentence Criminal law – Manslaughter – provocation and possible self-defence as mitigating factors Plea of guilty – relevance in sentencing and mitigation
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24 July 1985 |
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Circumstantial and voice identification evidence upheld to establish appellant's possession of firearm and guilt for triple murder.
Criminal law – Murder – Circumstantial evidence – Possession of firearm – Voice identification by neighbours – Absence of gun register does not necessarily vitiate prosecution case.
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24 July 1985 |
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First appellant's conviction quashed for failure to properly evaluate alibi; second appellant's conviction upheld on reliable identification.
Criminal law - murder; identification evidence and corroboration; alibi — duty to weigh defence and prosecution evidence together; voir dire for young witness — no prejudice where none shown; unsafe conviction; appeal allowed as to first accused, second accused's conviction upheld.
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23 July 1985 |
Evidence - Judge’s failure to consider defence evidence when dealing with prosecution evidence - Judge arriving at the conclusion without considering defence evidence - Misdirection. |
23 July 1985 |
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Court reduced 12-year sentence to 5 years, holding intoxication affects mens rea and is not an aggravating factor.
Criminal law – sentencing – manslaughter (conviction on dying declaration) – intoxication relates to mens rea, not an aggravating sentencing factor – appellate reduction of excessive sentence – credit for prolonged remand.
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23 July 1985 |
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Close-range eyewitness identification and supporting circumstantial evidence upheld the appellant's murder conviction despite no identity parade.
Criminal law – Murder – intention to kill or cause grievous harm where another person is killed by the same act; transferred or concurrent causation issues. Identification evidence – reliability of eyewitness identification after close, prolonged daylight contact; absence of identity parade not fatal where circumstances permit identification. Circumstantial evidence – adequacy to establish accused as only possible perpetrator. Rejection of fabricated alibi/afterthought allegations regarding police coaching of witness.
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23 July 1985 |
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Appeal dismissed: in‑court identification and circumstantial evidence sufficiently supported the murder conviction.
Criminal law – identification evidence – adequacy of in-court identification where witness had ample opportunity to observe accused in daylight. Criminal procedure – identification parade – absence of parade not necessarily fatal to prosecution where identification circumstances are strong. Evidence – circumstantial and direct evidence combined to support conviction. Credibility – defendant’s afterthought allegations of police coaching held implausible.
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23 July 1985 |
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Sole eyewitness credibility and appellants' deliberate lies provided corroboration supporting murder convictions.
Criminal law – Murder – Reliance on evidence of single eyewitness – Need for corroboration – Lies by accused about material facts can amount to corroboration – Circumstantial evidence and last-seen-if-unexplained principle.
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22 July 1985 |
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Appellate court upheld murder conviction where credible sole eyewitness testimony was corroborated by the appellant’s adopted statement.
Criminal law – Murder – Reliance on sole eyewitness – Corroboration required – Defendant’s unsworn extra‑judicial statement adopted in court can corroborate eyewitness – Delay in reporting and failure to call corroborative witnesses not automatically fatal – Appellate deference to trial judge’s credibility findings.
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22 July 1985 |
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Conviction for murder upheld where sole eyewitness evidence was corroborated by the appellant’s adopted extra‑judicial statement.
Criminal law – Murder – Conviction on the evidence of a single eyewitness – necessity for corroboration. Criminal procedure – Failure to call alleged corroborative witnesses – effect on credibility of eyewitness. Evidence – Accused’s unsworn adoption of extra‑judicial statement as corroboration. Acquittal of co‑accused where no corroboration of sole witness.
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22 July 1985 |
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Whether a High Court judge sitting alone may validly grant bail under section 29(4) of the Act.
Criminal procedure – Economic and Organized Crime Control Act, 1984 – Interpretation of "High Court" – Jurisdiction to grant bail under section 29(4) – Role of Economic Crimes Court and section 35 – Lay members – Validity of bail conditions and effect of erroneous reference to section 35.
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10 July 1985 |
| January 1985 |
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Appeal dismissed: eyewitness credibility and medical evidence supported manslaughter conviction and ten-year sentence.
Criminal law – manslaughter – credibility of eyewitnesses – material vs. immaterial contradictions; defence raised late – afterthought; post-mortem evidence – blunt-force head injury; intoxication as partial defence.
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1 January 1985 |