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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 1987 |
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A second appeal with no point of law is dismissed; fatal stick attack not provoked sufficiently to reduce murder to manslaughter.
Criminal appeal – second appeal raising no point of law – dismissal; Murder – mens rea and provocation – requirement of ‘last straw’ and immediate provocation; Trial procedure – necessity (and desirability) of recording reasons when disagreeing with assessors.
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20 November 1987 |
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Unsigned sale agreement and lack of vendor ratification preclude specific performance; purchase money to be refunded.
Agency — scope of authority of spouse managing property; Sale agreements — requirement of vendor’s signature for effectiveness; Ratification — conduct amounting to adoption of agent’s unauthorised sale; Specific performance — unavailable where agreement is ineffective and no ratification shown.
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6 November 1987 |
| September 1987 |
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The appellant's appeal is dismissed; the trial court rightly found the applicant negligent and awarded respondent damages.
Motor-vehicle collision — credibility of witnesses and sketch plan evidence — determination of point of impact — failure to keep to lane; negligence — appellate deference to trial court's factual findings.
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24 September 1987 |
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The appellant’s negligent driving in a road collision was upheld; appeal dismissed with costs.
Road traffic accident — negligence — proper side of road — point of impact and sketch plan as evidence — credibility of witnesses — appellate deference to trial court’s factual findings.
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24 September 1987 |
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Reported
Criminal Practice and Procedure - Charges - Withdrawal and substitution of charges - Whether omission to call upon an accused to plead to the new or altered charge renders a trial a nullity. |
21 September 1987 |
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Appellate court upheld murder conviction where dying declaration and eyewitnesses corroborated fatal wounding, rejecting appellant's self‑defence account.
Criminal law – Murder – sufficiency of evidence – dying declaration corroborated by eyewitnesses supports conviction where defence inconsistent and uncorroborated. Criminal procedure – Credibility – absence of expected physical evidence and missing alleged stolen items/weapon may undermine, but do not necessarily defeat, prosecution when eyewitness and medical evidence are persuasive.
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21 September 1987 |
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An appellate court reduced a sentence after the trial judge failed to account for three years of pre-sentence custody.
Criminal law — Sentencing — Appellate interference with sentencing discretion — Pre-sentence custody — Failure to take remand time into account justifies sentence reduction.
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21 September 1987 |
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Appellate court reduced a nine-year sentence to five years because pre-sentence custody was not taken into account.
Criminal law — Sentencing — Appellate interference with trial judge's discretion; Pre-sentence custody as material mitigating factor; Reduction of sentence where trial judge failed to consider time in custody.
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21 September 1987 |
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Unexplained medical evidence and failure to call doctors created reasonable doubt, so the appellant's murder conviction was quashed.
Criminal law – Murder – Causation and burden of proof – Medical evidence – Tendering PF3 and post‑mortem reports without calling medical witnesses – Failure to link fatal injury to alleged assault creates reasonable doubt.
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21 September 1987 |
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Murder conviction quashed where prosecution failed to medically link the assault to the fatal skull fracture.
Criminal law – Murder – Causation – Medical evidence – Production of PF3 and post‑mortem report without calling doctors – Failure to link assault to fatal injury – Reasonable doubt – Conviction quashed.
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21 September 1987 |
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Failure to take a plea to a substituted charge renders the trial a nullity and the conviction must be quashed.
Criminal procedure – Substitution of charge – Mandatory taking of plea upon arraignment – Failure to take plea renders trial a nullity – Omission not curable as mere irregularity – Conviction quashed; no retrial ordered.
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21 September 1987 |
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Conviction based primarily on child testimony without the required statutory warning and insubstantial corroboration cannot stand.
Evidence Act s.127(2),(3) – evidence of children of tender years – statutory warning required before acting – corroboration – insufficiency of isolated payment – burden of proof – prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; conviction set aside.
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18 September 1987 |
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Failure to direct assessors on provocation vitiated the trial, leading to quashing of conviction and sentence.
Criminal law – Defence of provocation – Trial judge’s duty to direct assessors on material issues of defence – Failure to direct assessors vitiates proceedings; conviction and sentence set aside.
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18 September 1987 |
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18 September 1987 |
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Applicant’s conviction for attempted robbery upheld as visual identification by multiple witnesses was reliable and presented no legal issue.
Criminal law – attempted robbery – visual identification – reliability where identification made by co-occupant in broad daylight and by witnesses who previously knew accused – factual finding not reviewable on a pure point of law.
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17 September 1987 |
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Appeal dismissed where identity was a factual finding supported by multiple identifications and no point of law was raised.
Criminal law – attempted robbery – visual identification – identification by driver in broad daylight and by witnesses who knew accused; credibility for trial court to determine. Appellate review – limited to questions of law; factual findings on identity not revisited on law-only appeal.
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17 September 1987 |
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16 September 1987 |
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Conviction upheld but sentence reduced because prolonged pre-trial custody made three-year term excessive.
Criminal law – conviction upheld on evidence; sentencing – excessive sentence reduced on appeal due to lengthy pre-trial detention; immediate release ordered.
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15 September 1987 |
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Conviction upheld but sentence reduced to immediate release because the trial court failed to account for lengthy pre-trial custody.
Criminal law – conviction upheld; sentence – excessive due to inadequate consideration of prolonged pre-trial custody – appellate reduction of sentence to effect immediate release.
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15 September 1987 |
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Manslaughter conviction upheld; sentence reduced to immediate release due to prolonged pre-trial custody.
Criminal law – Manslaughter arising from a fight – sufficiency of eyewitness and corroborative evidence; sentencing – credit for long pre-trial/remand custody; reduction of excessive sentence to effect immediate release.
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15 September 1987 |
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Conviction for manslaughter upheld, but sentence found excessive due to about two years’ pre‑sentence custody and requiring reduction.
Criminal law – Manslaughter – Sufficiency of evidence and credibility of eyewitness – Conviction upheld; Sentencing – Pre‑sentence custody and delay – Sentence found excessive and requiring adjustment.
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15 September 1987 |
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Credible witness evidence corroborated by a confession and minor accomplice conduct can sustain a murder conviction.
Criminal law – murder – accomplice evidence; extra‑judicial confession – alterations and formal defects – caution in reception; corroboration of witness testimony; sufficiency of evidence to sustain conviction.
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15 September 1987 |
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Conviction for murder upheld despite minor defects in confession because witness evidence and corroboration were sufficient.
Criminal law – murder – eyewitness evidence and accomplice status; extrajudicial/confessional statements – formal defects, cautionary approach and corroboration; sufficiency of evidence to uphold conviction.
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15 September 1987 |
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15 September 1987 |
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An accused's mere amnesia, without supporting evidence, does not prove legal insanity and conviction for murder was upheld.
Criminal law – Insanity defence – Presumption of sanity under section 12 Penal Code – Burden on party alleging insanity to prove it on balance of probabilities – Amnesia alone insufficient to establish legal insanity without supporting evidence or expert opinion.
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14 September 1987 |
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13 September 1987 |
| January 1987 |
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Conviction based on un-warned testimony of young children and unsupported corroboration is unsafe.
Criminal law – conviction based on evidence of children of tender years – requirement to warn under s.127(3) Evidence Act – failure fatal to conviction. Evidence – corroboration – alleged payment to victim does not necessarily corroborate crucial testimony. Criminal procedure – burden of proof – trial judge must assess whether prosecution proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt, not simply choose between conflicting versions. Credibility – inconsistencies between child witnesses must be addressed before relying on their testimony.
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1 January 1987 |
Elections – Election Offences and Irregularities - Bribery and Corrupt Practices
Elections – Election Petitions – Burden of Proof in Election Cases
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1 January 1987 |
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1 January 1987 |