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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 1987 |
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Appellant’s credible self‑defence found excessive; murder conviction reduced to manslaughter and sentence substituted.
Criminal law – murder versus manslaughter – self‑defence upheld but excessive force – appellate substitution of conviction and sentence.
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10 November 1987 |
| August 1987 |
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Whether mere possession of Government wildlife trophies constitutes an economic offence under the Economic and Organized Crime Control Act, 1984.
* Economic offences – Whether unlawful possession of Government Trophy (elephant tusks) falls within Economic and Organized Crime Control Act, 1984.* Statutory interpretation – interaction between Economic and Organized Crime Control Act (Paragraph 16(b), s59(2)) and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1974 (s67(1)).* Jurisdictional scope of Economic Crimes Court in wildlife-trophy possession offences.
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13 August 1987 |
| May 1987 |
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The applicant who bought in good faith acquired ownership; the respondent’s remedy was to sue for the purchase price.
Sale of Goods Ordinance s.27(1) – seller in possession – bona fide purchaser without notice – effect of sale; Motor registration card – not a document of title but prima facie evidence of ownership; Dishonoured cheque – prior buyer’s remedy limited to action for price; Return of vehicle and costs.
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7 May 1987 |
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A good-faith purchaser from a seller in possession acquires valid title under section 27(1) of the Sale of Goods Ordinance.
Sale of Goods Ordinance s.27(1) – seller in possession – transfer to third party in good faith and without notice – buyer acquires good title; Motor registration card – not a document of title but best evidence of ownership; Good-faith purchaser protection; Public tender sales; Special damages not proved.
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7 May 1987 |
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Reported
Sale of Goods - Sale by seller in possession - Dispute as to ownership between the first buyer and second buyer - Section 27( 1) Sale of goods Ordinence Cap 214.
Sale of Goods - Damages claim for special damages - Whether satisfactory proved.
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7 May 1987 |
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Appeal dismissed: no bona fide point of law and disputed parcels held to be clan land inherited by the respondent.
Land and succession — Distinction between deceased’s personal estate and clan land under customary inheritance — Requirement of certificate under s.4(2)(c) Appellate Jurisdiction Act for point of law — Misreading of trial judgment does not create a point of law — Bona vacantia irrelevant where clan succession occurred.
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7 May 1987 |
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No point of law was certified; appeal dismissed — dispute concerned clan land versus father’s personal estate.
Land law – distinction between clan (inherited) land and an individual’s personal estate; appellate jurisdiction – requirement of a proper certificate under s.4(2)(c) Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1979; misreading of lower court judgment vitiates certification; remedies for alleged alienation of clan land lie with clan members.
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7 May 1987 |
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Appeal allowed: dying declaration and identification in the dark were unreliable, conviction deemed unsafe and quashed.
Criminal law – dying declaration – admissibility and need for careful scrutiny and corroboration; identification evidence in poor lighting; unsafe conviction; manslaughter v. murder; effect of intoxication on intent.
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5 May 1987 |
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An uncorroborated dying declaration based on uncertain identification in the dark cannot safely support conviction.
Criminal law – dying declaration – admissibility and need for corroboration; identification – sudden attack in darkness; reliability of identification evidence; conviction unsafe where dying declaration uncorroborated and identification circumstances unfavourable.
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5 May 1987 |
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Vehicle used to carry government trophies is forfeitable unless owner successfully applies under the statutory proviso.
Forfeiture — government trophies found in vehicle — interplay between s.44(2) Economic and Organised Crime Control Act 1984 and s.78(2) Wildlife Conservation Act 1974 — third‑party ownership — owner’s remedy under proviso — requirement to afford State opportunity to oppose.
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5 May 1987 |
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The appellant’s confessions and an unsupportive psychiatric report led the court to dismiss his insanity defence and affirm conviction.
Criminal law – Murder – Confession and extra-judicial statement – Insanity/disease of the mind defence – Psychiatric report – Co-accused dying before trial; admissibility and weight of confessions; failure to establish insanity.
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5 May 1987 |
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Insanity defence failed where psychiatric report and evidence showed appellant was sane; conviction and death sentence upheld.
* Criminal law – Murder – Admission/confession to police and extra-judicial statement to Justice of the Peace – Post-mortem evidence of fatal head injuries.
* Criminal law – Insanity defence – Psychiatric examination and report not supporting insanity; burden on accused to show more likely insane than sane.
* Criminal procedure – Appeal against conviction – appellate court upholds trial court where evidence and medical report do not support insanity plea.
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5 May 1987 |
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Appeal dismissed: eyewitness and dying declaration corroborated conviction despite trial court’s erroneous directions on alibi and corroboration.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – reliability of nighttime identification by an eyewitness using a lamp.
* Evidence – Dying declaration – requirement for corroboration and what may constitute corroboration.
* Evidence – Spousal testimony – no automatic rule requiring corroboration; warning under Evidence Act sufficient.
* Criminal procedure – Alibi defence – proper test is whether alibi raises reasonable doubt; requirement to notify under s.194(4).
* Appellate review – errors in directions to assessors may be harmless if evidence otherwise supports the conviction.
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5 May 1987 |
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Appellant's credible self-defence diminished to manslaughter due to use of excessive force; conviction substituted and two-year sentence imposed.
* Criminal law – Homicide – differentiation between murder and manslaughter where defendant claims self-defence but uses excessive force.
* Evidence – evaluation of credibility – appellate correction of speculative rejection of accused's account.
* Sentencing – substitution of conviction and imposition of appropriate sentence where culpability reduced.
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4 May 1987 |
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Self‑defence accepted but excessive force reduces murder conviction to manslaughter; two‑year sentence substituted.
Criminal law – self‑defence – credibility of accused’s account – excessive force – distinction between murder and manslaughter – s.18(b) Penal Code – appellate substitution of conviction and sentence.
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4 May 1987 |
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Extra-judicial statement did not confess to murder and lacked corroboration; convictions quashed and sentences set aside.
Criminal law – confession by co-accused – extra-judicial statement – requirement of corroboration under s.33(2) Evidence Act 1967 – circumstantial corroboration – trial-within-trial procedure – role of Justice of the Peace.
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4 May 1987 |
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Appeal allowed: provocation (suspected poisoning) justified reducing murder conviction to manslaughter and imposing seven years' imprisonment.
* Criminal law – Homicide – Dying declaration – admissibility and need for corroboration as to the fact of killing and circumstances.
* Criminal law – Defences – Provocation – whether suspicion of poisoning can amount to provocation.
* Criminal appeal – Miscarriage of justice where trial judge fails to consider available defence evidence.
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4 May 1987 |
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Appeal allowed: misdirections and corroborating evidence of suspected poisoning justified reducing murder conviction to manslaughter and imposing seven years.
Criminal law – dying declaration – requirement of corroboration; Criminal law – provocation as partial defence; Criminal procedure – appellate intervention where trial judge misdirects and relies on non-existent evidence; Substitution of conviction and sentence on appeal.
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4 May 1987 |
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Retracted extrajudicial statement by co-accused did not confess to murder and lacked sufficient corroboration; convictions quashed.
* Criminal law – admissibility of extrajudicial statements by co-accused – retraction at trial requires corroboration – s.33(2) Evidence Act 1967.
* Evidence – distinction between admission of participation in theft and confession to murder; need for clear indication of knowledge of violence.
* Circumstantial evidence – limits of corroboration where facts are equivocal and do not directly support confession.
* Procedure – conduct and recording of trial-within-trial and role of Justice of the Peace in taking voluntary statements.
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4 May 1987 |
| April 1987 |
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Retracted confessions corroborated by eyewitness and medical evidence upheld murder convictions; intoxication defence rejected.
* Criminal law – murder – extra-judicial (retracted) confessions – requirement of corroboration and corroborative evidence
* Criminal law – identification – ocular testimony at night and assessment of visibility and credibility
* Criminal law – intoxication as a defence – incapacity to form intent must be proven
* Criminal law – deliberate/planned attack versus spontaneous fight
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29 April 1987 |
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Corroborated identification and retracted confessions upheld murder convictions; intoxication did not negate intent.
Criminal law – murder – eyewitness identification and corroboration of retracted confessions – extra‑judicial statements – medical evidence of fatal injuries – intoxication defence and specific intent.
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29 April 1987 |
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Eyewitness ID and corroborated confessions upheld; intoxication defence rejected; murder convictions affirmed.
Criminal law – murder – eyewitness identification at night – corroboration of retracted confessions – acts of retrieval of weapon as corroboration – intoxication insufficient to negate intent.
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29 April 1987 |
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Voluntary confessions corroborated by accused leading to victim's remains validated convictions; appeals dismissed.
Criminal law – Confessions – Voluntariness: handcuffing does not automatically render a confession involuntary; voluntariness depends on evidence. Criminal procedure – Corroboration: where confessions are retracted, corroborative acts (e.g., leading to victim's remains) can validate confessions. Criminal appeals – Non-direction: omission to direct assessors on corroboration may be harmless if corroboration is manifest in the evidence.
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29 April 1987 |
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Handcuffing alone does not make a confession involuntary; leading to the body corroborated retracted confessions.
Criminal law — Confession — Voluntariness — Handcuffs do not per se render confession involuntary; need for evidence of coercion. Corroboration — Retracted confession requires corroboration; leading to the deceased's remains can provide corroboration. Trial irregularity — Non-direction to assessors on corroboration may be non-fatal where corroborative evidence exists.
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29 April 1987 |
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Retracted extra-judicial confession was sufficiently corroborated by witnesses despite no identification parade; appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – extra-judicial (retracted) confession – admissibility after trial within a trial – voluntariness.
* Corroboration – witness evidence supporting material particulars of confession.
* Identification evidence – delayed identification without parade – not necessarily fatal if corroboration exists.
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28 April 1987 |
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A retracted extra‑judicial confession, corroborated by witness evidence despite no identification parade, upheld the murder conviction.
* Criminal law – Extra‑judicial (retracted) confession – Requirement of corroboration before convicting on a retracted confession. * Identification – Dock identification and absence of identification parade – weight and reliability. * Procedure – Trial‑within‑a‑trial and admissibility of confession.
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28 April 1987 |
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Appellants’ convictions for deliberate murder by concerted hanging were upheld; appeals dismissed.
Criminal law – Murder – Asphyxia by hanging – Whether deceased was alive when hanged – Evidence of eye‑witnesses and circumstantial indicators; Common intention/acting in concert – accomplice liability; Duress defence – credibility and conduct post‑offence; Post‑mortem evidence where pathologist unavailable.
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28 April 1987 |
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Convictions upheld on reliable visual identification; un-notified alibis properly rejected; concurrent 13-year sentences imposed.
* Criminal law – Attempted murder – Visual identification at night – lamp and moonlight and prior acquaintance – reliability and corroboration. * Criminal procedure – Alibi – requirement to give prior notice under s.194 Criminal Procedure Act – consequences of failure to give notice. * Sentencing – concurrent sentences for multiple counts; appellate review of sentence severity.
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27 April 1987 |
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Identification and admissibility of alibi under s.194 upheld; concurrent 13-year sentences for two attempted murder counts imposed.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – favourable conditions, prior acquaintance and corroboration; Criminal procedure – Section 194 CPA – notice of alibi and rejection of unsupported alibis; Sentencing – concurrent sentences for multiple counts; Appeal – correction of sentence to reflect convictions on two counts.
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27 April 1987 |
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Retracted confessions and post‑incident conduct corroborated, appeal against murder conviction dismissed.
Criminal law – Confession and retraction – Corroboration by conduct (leading to remains) – Appellate review of trial court credibility findings – Circumstantial evidence and drowning as cause of death.
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27 April 1987 |
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Soldier’s deliberate shooting into a crowd constituted murder; provocation and insanity defences not established, appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – Murder – deliberate shooting into a crowd – malice aforethought established. * Criminal law – Defence of provocation – mere insult insufficient to reduce murder. * Criminal law – Insanity plea – burden to prove on balance of probabilities; absence of supporting evidence or report fatal to defence.
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27 April 1987 |
| January 1987 |
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Whether delayed, inconsistent and uncorroborated identification evidence rendered the murder convictions unsafe.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – Reliability of eyewitness identification where statements were delayed and accounts inconsistent; effect of unexplained delay in recording statements; failure to call potentially corroborating witnesses undermining safety of convictions.
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1 January 1987 |
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1 January 1987 |
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Accused convicted of large-scale armed cattle theft based on circumstantial evidence, recent possession, and discredited ownership claims.
Criminal law – cattle theft – identification of stolen stock by appearance without personal marks – recent possession doctrine – circumstantial evidence and flight as proof of guilt – rejection of accused’s rival ownership claim – sentence and compensation for unrecovered stock.
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1 January 1987 |