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Citation
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Judgment date
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| September 1990 |
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Broad‑daylight identification with corroboration and lethal injuries upheld murder conviction despite trial misdirection.
Criminal law – Identification evidence – reliability where attack occurred in broad daylight and description corroborated by independent witnesses; Criminal procedure – misdirection by trial judge referring to evidence not before the court – when such error is material to safety of conviction; Murder – proof of intent – nature of injuries and weapon (panga) as evidence of intention to kill.
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11 September 1990 |
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Acquittal for murder set aside; respondent convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
Criminal law – Appeal from acquittal – Evaluation of witness credibility and bias – Self‑defence – Distinction between murder and manslaughter – Sentence and credit for time served.
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11 September 1990 |
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An employee has no right to continued service until retirement absent an express contractual term conferring that entitlement.
* Employment law – wrongful dismissal – interpretation of appointment letters and contracts – entitlement to continued service until compulsory retirement depends on express contractual terms.
* Employment law – pension contributions – employer contribution allowed where payable and, if paid, is distinct from anticipated pension rights.
* Contract law – contracts construed by their written terms; no implied revision permitting continuous employment absent clear provision.
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11 September 1990 |
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Appeal summarily dismissed for late notice, failure to seek extension or lodge required appeal documents, and absence of leave to appeal.
Appeal procedure — late notice of appeal without reasons or application for extension of time — failure to lodge memorandum of appeal or specify points of law — absence of leave to appeal where required — summary dismissal for procedural non‑compliance.
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5 September 1990 |
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Appeal against murder convictions dismissed; extra-judicial confessions corroborated and insanity defence not proven.
Criminal law – murder (patricide) – admissibility and weight of extra-judicial/confessional statements – effect of in-court retraction – requirement for independent corroboration – insanity defence – proof at material time.
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5 September 1990 |
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Appellate court upholds murder conviction based on credible eyewitness identification despite absence of proven motive.
Criminal law — Murder — Eyewitness identification — Credibility of witness — Trial judge’s acceptance of testimony — Motive unnecessary where the act and culpability are proved.
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5 September 1990 |
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Appellant’s self‑defence rejected; credible testimony and fatal stab wound upheld murder conviction and appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – murder – sufficiency of evidence; self‑defence – afterthought defence and credibility; medical evidence – fatal stab wound penetrating heart; manslaughter vs murder – no basis to reduce conviction where intent and causation established.
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5 September 1990 |
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Where common intention was to unlawfully punish but not to kill, resultant death did not constitute murder; conviction reduced to manslaughter.
Criminal law – Murder v manslaughter – Common intention (s.23 Penal Code) – Whether unlawful punishment resulting in death constitutes murder – Requirement of intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm proved beyond reasonable doubt.
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3 September 1990 |
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Acquittal was upheld where evidence left a reasonable doubt that defendants had an honest claim of right; civil claims remain open.
* Criminal law – theft – claim of right – bona fide belief in ownership or right to goods raises reasonable doubt and may preclude conviction. * Appellate review – concurrent findings of trial and High Court on credibility and reasonable doubt should not be disturbed absent clear error. * Criminal acquittal does not bar civil actions concerning ownership or proprietary rights.
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3 September 1990 |
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Acquittal upheld where prosecution failed to prove theft beyond reasonable doubt; bona fide possession negated criminal liability.
* Criminal law – theft – burden of proof – whether prosecution proved theft beyond reasonable doubt.
* Property/possession – bona fide title or possession as defence to theft charges.
* Appellate review – respect for concurrent factual findings of trial and High Court absent material misdirection.
* Criminal acquittal – does not extinguish or determine civil claims between parties.
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3 September 1990 |
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An appellate court will not disturb an absolute discharge where the trial judge properly exercised sentencing discretion considering lengthy remand.
* Criminal law – sentencing – appellate interference – appellate court will not interfere with trial judge's sentencing discretion unless wrong principle applied or sentence manifestly inadequate or excessive.
* Sentencing – remand time – lengthy pretrial remand may be treated as part of punishment when determining appropriate sentence.
* Offence – assault causing actual bodily harm – evidence of injury (swelling) supported conviction despite description as a 'slap'.
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3 September 1990 |
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A single credible eyewitness can support a murder conviction despite delay in arrest and assessors' disagreement.
Criminal law – murder – sufficiency of single eyewitness evidence; corroboration under Evidence Act; probative effect of delay before arrest; trial judge’s duty to state reasons when departing from assessors’ opinions.
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3 September 1990 |
| May 1990 |
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On a second appeal the Court may consider only points of law, not factual disputes or sentence severity.
* Criminal procedure – Second appeal under Part X/ Appellate Jurisdiction Act s.6(7)(a) – Court of Appeal limited to questions of law. * Appeal proceedings – Factual issues (identification) and severity of sentence not entertainable on second appeal. * Statutory limitation of jurisdiction in appellate review from subordinate courts.
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17 May 1990 |
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On a second appeal the Court may consider only points of law; factual findings and sentence severity cannot be re‑opened.
* Criminal procedure – Second appeal – Scope limited to questions of law and excluding matters of fact and severity of sentence – Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1979 s.6(7)(a).
* Criminal law – Identification and sentence severity cannot be re-opened on a second appeal as matters of fact.
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17 May 1990 |
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Eyewitness and post‑mortem evidence established guilt; self‑defence rejected and sentencing errors (duplicate death sentences, untendered statement) identified.
* Criminal law – murder – credibility of eyewitness evidence and corroboration by post‑mortem reports – rejection of self‑defence where account is inconsistent and afterthought. * Criminal procedure – admissibility – caution against reliance on extra‑judicial statements not tendered as exhibits. * Sentencing – death sentence may be passed on one count only where multiple convictions arise from the same incident. * Practice – confirmation of magistrates’ sentences passed by magistrates exercising extended jurisdiction.
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17 May 1990 |
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Appeal dismissed: eyewitness corroborated by post‑mortems; self‑defence deemed an afterthought; conviction and sentence upheld.
Criminal law – murder – eyewitness credibility and corroboration by post‑mortem reports; late/afterthought plea of self‑defence; principle that conviction rests on prosecution’s case strength; s.175(1) Criminal Procedure Act – High Court confirmation of death sentence only when no appeal; practice regarding magistrates’ death sentences.
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17 May 1990 |
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Whether bank records justified reversing an acquittal and convicting the appellant of stealing by a public servant.
* Criminal law – Appeal from acquittal – High Court reversal of District Court acquittal for stealing by a public servant; standard of appellate review on credibility findings.
* Evidence – Reliance on bank records/payment sheets to prove payment of draught and link to alleged theft.
* Defences – Late and unparticularised assertions do not create reasonable doubt.
* Sentence – Appellate interference only where sentence is manifestly excessive.
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17 May 1990 |
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Appellate court set aside two murder convictions for unreliable identification and reduced the third appellant's sentence to five years.
* Criminal law – murder – identification evidence – witness distance, lighting and relationship to deceased may undermine identification reliability.
* Criminal law – common intention – passive presence insufficient to convict for murder.
* Evidence – demeanour – trial judge’s view must be tested against whole of evidence.
* Evidence – extra‑judicial (repudiated) confession – caution required; corroboration ordinarily prudent.
* Sentencing – appellate reduction where conviction or evidence is unsafe and custody already served.
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17 May 1990 |
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Appeal allowed for first two appellants for unsafe identification; third appellant's conviction reduced to manslaughter with eight-year sentence.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – contradictions between in-court testimony and prior statements – unreliability where material particulars differ.
* Criminal law – Common intention – requires safe identification of participants; cannot rest on doubtful eyewitness evidence.
* Criminal law – Extra‑judicial/confessional statement – may support conviction if reliable; corroboration not always required for denied confessions.
* Sentencing – substitution of conviction from murder to manslaughter and appropriate custodial term with credit for pre-trial custody.
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17 May 1990 |
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Longstanding marital grievances do not constitute sudden provocation; murder conviction and death sentence upheld.
Criminal law – Murder – Defence of provocation (section 202 Penal Code) – Whether long-standing matrimonial grievances and cumulative provocations constitute sudden legal provocation – Confession and medical evidence establishing death by poison.
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17 May 1990 |
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Conviction for murder by poisoning upheld; provocation defence unavailable and appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – murder by poisoning – causation and mens rea – admissibility and weight of confession – defence of legal (local) provocation – sudden provocation requirement (section 202 Penal Code).
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17 May 1990 |
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On appeal the court quashed a murder conviction, finding the appellant not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered statutory referral to the Minister.
Criminal law — murder — defence of insanity — role and weight of psychiatric (expert) evidence — court not bound by expert opinion — legal insanity assessed from totality of evidence — section 219(2) and (3)(a) Criminal Procedure Act — appeal quashing conviction and making special finding of not guilty by reason of insanity.
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17 May 1990 |
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Murder conviction quashed; appellant found insane at time of killing and declared not guilty by reason of insanity.
* Criminal law – legal insanity – court's duty to determine sanity on evidence, not to be bound by expert's conclusory statement.
* Expert evidence – psychiatric report given long after offence may be insufficient to establish mental state at time of offence.
* Criminal Procedure Act s.219(2) – substitution of special finding where accused killed but was insane.
* Criminal Procedure Act s.219(3)(a) – forwarding certified proceedings to Minister and custody of criminal lunatic.
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17 May 1990 |
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Omission to strictly comply with one formal requirement of s.57 does not automatically invalidate a confession if statutory safeguards are otherwise observed.
* Criminal law – admissibility of confession – Section 57 Criminal Procedure Act – procedural safeguards and effect of omission to comply with paragraph (d) – omission not necessarily fatal to admissibility.
* Evidence – weight of confession corroborated by witnesses and post‑mortem findings – credibility of accused’s alternative explanations.
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17 May 1990 |
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Murder conviction upheld; caution statement treated as properly recorded under s.57 and evidence found sufficient.
* Criminal law – Murder – Sufficiency of evidence – Circumstantial evidence and extra‑judicial confession establishing guilt.
* Evidence – Confessions – Compliance with section 57(3) and (4) of the Criminal Procedure Code; thumb‑print and statement that the record was read to suspect sufficient to render confession admissible.
* Criminal procedure – Procedural irregularity in recording confession does not automatically vitiate admissibility where statutory safeguards effectively observed.
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17 May 1990 |
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Failure to consider all aspects of a provocation defence warranted quashing murder conviction and substituting manslaughter.
Criminal law – Provocation – defence containing multiple elements (threat and insult) – duty of trial judge to consider and direct on each element – failure to direct assessors on an element may vitiate murder conviction and warrant substitution to manslaughter; Sentence – balancing aggravating cruelty and pregnancy against mitigation of first offender and long custody.
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17 May 1990 |
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Failure to consider both insult and threat elements of provocation led to substituting murder conviction with manslaughter.
Criminal law – Provocation – Multi-element defence (insult and threat) – Duty of trial judge to consider each element and to direct assessors – Failure to do so is material error warranting quashing of murder conviction and substitution with manslaughter; sentencing considerations (first offender, time in custody).
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17 May 1990 |
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Late, inconsistent self-defence claim undermined by lack of weapon and witness evidence; conviction and death sentence affirmed.
Criminal law — Murder — Self-defence — Late assertion and inconsistent account — Absence of alleged weapon at scene — Credibility of witnesses and physical evidence supporting conviction.
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17 May 1990 |
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Self‑defence plea rejected where eyewitness and forensic evidence showed an unprovoked fatal shooting; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Murder – Plea of self‑defence – Credibility of eyewitnesses and consistency with cautioned statements – Forensic/scene evidence (absence of pistol or pistol cartridges) – Appeal dismissed where evidence overwhelmingly supports conviction.
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17 May 1990 |
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Applicant's insanity defence rejected; evidence showed knowledge of act and wrongness, appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Insanity defence; legal test for criminal non-responsibility – disease of mind causing inability to understand nature or wrongness of act; role of confessions and conduct in disproving insanity.
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17 May 1990 |
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Unchallenged bank and cashier evidence upheld conviction for a public servant’s theft; late defence found an afterthought.
Criminal law – stealing by public servant – appellate review of acquittal reversed – credibility of witnesses – probative value of bank records and payment drafts – late afterthought defence – sentence not manifestly excessive.
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1 May 1990 |
| April 1990 |
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A non-owner cannot transfer a right of occupancy and any such disposition without presidential consent is ineffective.
Land law – Right of Occupancy – disposition (conveyance/assignment other than mortgage) requires prior presidential consent (delegated to Director of Land Development Services); disposition without consent ineffective. Ownership/authority to sell – a non-owner cannot validly transfer property. Procedural/evidentiary note – written agreement and offer do not cure lack of title or statutory consent.
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12 April 1990 |
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A belated administrative registration cannot retrospectively remove a statutory disability nor cure delay barred by limitation.
Business Names (Registration) Ordinance, Cap 213 – s.11 registration of change of particulars – no retrospective effect; s.15(1)(a) disability continues until lifted by court. Limitation – 60‑day period applies to applications to remove registration disability; time runs from when applicant ought reasonably to have been aware (e.g. upon engaging counsel). Procedural/formal requirements – Form 6 and statutory verification/declaration required for valid registration. Finality of appellate judgment – Court of Appeal’s decision is conclusive and not negated by subsequent administrative registration.
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5 April 1990 |