|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| December 1982 |
|
|
Accomplice testimony corroborated by circumstances upheld a theft conviction; receiver convicted and sentences reduced.
Criminal law – accomplice evidence – necessity of corroboration – corroboration by circumstantial and recovery evidence; conversion of theft conviction to receiving stolen property; sentencing—excessiveness and reduction.
|
30 December 1982 |
|
Res ipsa loquitur and vicarious liability established; damages limited to proven funeral expenses, general (non-pecuniary) loss disallowed.
Motor vehicle negligence; res ipsa loquitur; vicarious liability of vehicle owner; Law Reform (Fatal Accidents) Ordinance—damages limited to pecuniary loss to dependants; award of special (funeral) damages only.
|
30 December 1982 |
|
|
28 December 1982 |
|
Evidence that a public servant received and failed to account for public funds supports conviction for stealing, not false pretences.
Criminal law – public funds – stealing by a public servant – distinction between theft and obtaining by false pretences; admissibility and sufficiency of oral admissions and handwriting identification without expert evidence; appellate substitution of convictions and sentences.
|
24 December 1982 |
|
Voice identification and extrajudicial statements were insufficient to convict; both accused acquitted for lack of evidence.
* Criminal law – Murder by arrow – medical evidence establishes cause of death but not perpetrator; identity issue crucial. * Identification – voice identification at night must be approached with great caution; inference from prior quarrel is unsafe. * Evidence – unsworn dock statements exculpating maker cannot be used against co-accused. * Extrajudicial statements – admissible against maker only as confession under s.33; cannot convict co-accused absent maker’s confession. * Common intention – not proved; aggregate evidence insufficient for conviction.
|
24 December 1982 |
|
|
22 December 1982 |
|
Police eyewitness evidence and recovery of tusks supported convictions; no rule requires civilian corroboration of police testimony.
* Criminal law – unlawful possession of wildlife (elephant tusks) – eyewitness police evidence and recovery of property supporting conviction.
* Evidence – credibility of police witnesses – no per se rule requiring civilian corroboration of police testimony.
* Criminal procedure – appellate review of factual findings – minor inconsistencies not decisive where prosecution evidence is credible.
* Proof of possession of pharmaceuticals – medical certificate accepted as sufficient evidence of contents.
|
22 December 1982 |
|
An unequivocal guilty plea bars challenge to conviction; a two-year sentence for obtaining money by false pretences was upheld.
* Criminal law – Plea of guilty – unequivocal plea precludes challenge to conviction – later allegation of police trickery not persuasive.
* Criminal law – Offence of obtaining money by false pretences – statutory maximum sentence – appellate review of sentence for excessiveness.
|
21 December 1982 |
|
|
21 December 1982 |
|
Conviction quashed where prosecution failed to prove ownership of goods and trial magistrate wrongly shifted onus to accused.
Criminal law — burden of proof — onus remains on prosecution; Identification of stolen goods — similarity of colour alone insufficient; Requirement for complainant to describe distinctive features before identification; Appellate power to quash conviction where prosecution fails to prove case.
|
21 December 1982 |
|
Murder convictions reduced to manslaughter where fatal assault occurred but malice aforethought was not proved.
Criminal law – Murder versus manslaughter – Malice aforethought – Whether intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm proved – Causal link between assault and fatal injury – Substitution of conviction and sentence where requisite intent absent.
|
21 December 1982 |
|
Appellate court dismisses challenge to theft conviction, finding apparent contradictions were due to poor presentation and evidence proved the offence.
* Criminal law – Theft – Whether prosecution proved theft beyond reasonable doubt – Recovery of suspected stolen money from accused’s premises. * Evidence – Alleged contradictions in witness statements – Poor presentation vs. true inconsistency – appellate review of credibility and evaluation of evidence. * Appeal – Appellate court's reluctance to interfere with trial court's findings and sentencing absent clear error.
|
21 December 1982 |
|
Conviction for causing death by reckless driving quashed where evidence showed bus struck appellant's vehicle, undermining prosecution's case.
Traffic offences – causing death by reckless driving and reckless driving – sufficiency of evidence – overtaking and causation – conflicting eyewitness accounts – vehicle inspection corroboration – failure of prosecution to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; procedural complaint about defence counsel absence noted but not decisive.
|
20 December 1982 |
|
Inter vivos gifts of immovable property are valid under Islamic law if intention, acceptance and delivery are proven; houses excluded from estate.
Islamic (Mohammadan) law – inter vivos gifts of immovable property – essentials of a valid gift: intention, acceptance, delivery – recorded transfer into donee's name evidences validity – transfers excluded from estate.
|
20 December 1982 |
|
Identification by colour and general appearance alone is insufficient to prove cattle theft where ownership is disputed.
* Criminal law – Theft of cattle – Identification evidence – Whether identification by colour and general appearance without distinctive marks suffices to prove ownership and guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
* Evidence – Ownership disputed – Necessity for reliable, distinctive marks or corroboration to sustain conviction.
* Preventive measures – Owner’s failure to mark cattle in theft-prone areas affects evidential reliability.
|
18 December 1982 |
|
The appellant overcharged the respondent by concealing excessive rent within service charges; appeal dismissed with costs.
Rent law – standard rent fixed by Rent Tribunal – landlord’s attempt to circumvent standard rent by combining rent with service charges – apportionment of utility/service costs where owner shares services – entitlement to refund for overpayment.
|
17 December 1982 |
|
Identification-parade defects rendered most convictions unsafe; only two appellants proven guilty of assaulting a police officer.
* Criminal law – Identification parades – safeguards and admissibility – identification evidence must be watertight; parade procedures must be scrupulously observed.
* Criminal law – Offences under s.243(b) Penal Code – assaulting police in execution of duty; obstructing police – sufficiency of evidence for conviction.
* Appellate review – quashing convictions where identification evidence is unreliable.
|
17 December 1982 |
|
Possession of the key and recovered money proved the appellant's guilt despite discrepancies in amounts and co-accused's footprints.
Criminal law – shopbreaking and stealing – circumstantial evidence – possession of key and presence at scene – proof beyond reasonable doubt; discrepancies in recovered/tendered money do not necessarily create reasonable doubt; footprints of co-accused insufficient to exculpate accomplice.
|
17 December 1982 |
|
Accused acted in self-defence but used excessive force, warranting a manslaughter conviction and nine-year sentence.
Criminal law - homicide; admissibility and weight of extra-judicial statement; self-defence and defence of property (s.18A); reasonable force limitation and excessive force leading to manslaughter (s.18B); conviction reduced from murder to manslaughter.
|
17 December 1982 |
|
Reported
Customary land law — Inheritance — First son of deceased and widow — Which of them is entitled to inherit deceased’s property — Rule 25 Law of Inheritance Rules 1963. |
16 December 1982 |
|
A widow’s usufructory rights do not permit disposal to defeat the deceased’s son as principal heir; sale of the land was void.
* Inheritance law – Law of Inheritance Rules (GN 436/63) – Rule 25 (first-grade heir) and Rule 27 – first son of senior house as principal heir. * Widow’s rights – usufruct only (GN 279/63, Rule 77(1)) – widow cannot dispose of land to the exclusion of heir. * Proof of disinheritance – necessity of will or competent evidence. * Evidence – inadmissibility/insufficiency of third‑party testimony to establish deceased’s gift; tax receipts and long possession not conclusive of ownership.
|
16 December 1982 |
|
Appeal against escape conviction dismissed; appellant failed to prove he had permission to leave custody.
* Criminal law – Escape from lawful custody – Whether accused was permitted to leave custody – Credibility of witness evidence and proper exercise of magistrate’s functions.
|
15 December 1982 |
|
Proceeding with trial under s.202 when charges are felonies is unlawful; conviction quashed and retrial ordered.
Criminal procedure — trial in absence — misapplication of s.202 Criminal Procedure Code where charges are felonies; s.202A inapplicable if prosecution has not closed its case — conviction obtained in accused’s absence unlawful and unsafe — convictions quashed and retrial ordered.
|
15 December 1982 |
|
Convictions quashed where identification evidence was unreliable and eyewitness accounts were materially inconsistent.
Criminal law – identification evidence – night-time incident with torches held by assailants; eyewitness credibility – material inconsistencies between testimony and police report; unsafe conviction – appeal allowed and convictions quashed.
|
15 December 1982 |
|
Child evidence corroborated by independent witnesses and recent possession upheld robbery conviction; sentences ordered concurrent.
* Evidence – Child witness – Admission and weight – Child’s evidence admissible if understands duty to tell truth; may be rejected only if uncorroborated or unreliable.
* Identification – Corroboration of identification by independent witnesses and circumstantial evidence can sustain conviction.
* Criminal law – Recent possession – Concealment and possession of stolen items proximate in time supports inference of guilt.
* Sentencing – Previous conviction – A conviction can only be a ‘previous conviction’ for sentencing if it was recorded before the commission of the later offence.
* Sentencing discretion – Concurrent versus consecutive sentences – appellate court may order concurrency where appropriate.
|
15 December 1982 |
|
Appeal allowed: convictions for corrupt transactions quashed due to insufficient evidence and contradictions.
Criminal law – Corrupt transactions – sufficiency of evidence – trap money and anthracene powder – agency/representation element – contradictions in witness accounts – conviction unsafe.
|
14 December 1982 |
|
Reported
Criminal Law — Corrupt transaction — Ward attendant solicits for a bribe from a patient allegedly on behalf of a medical assistant — Whether he has undertaken to do anything in respect of a matter in which the Government as his principal is concerned. |
14 December 1982 |
|
Alterations to railway records and failure to account for a missing parcel upheld convictions for forgery and theft.
Criminal law – Forgery – omission of express allegation of intent to defraud in particulars not fatal where charge states "did forge"; record alterations as evidence of forgery and linked theft; missing consignment and inability to account support inference of stealing; non-production of conductor's Guard Memo Book not necessarily exculpatory.
|
14 December 1982 |
|
Reported
Criminal Law — Importation of goods without import licence — Goods acquired while on service abroad — Goods not declared to customs authorities on return to the country — Whether goods constituted personal baggage exempted from the requirements of Import Control Ordinance, Ss. 4 and 20 (Cap. 292).
Statutory Interpretation — Meaning of “bona fide accompanied baggage" — S. 5 of the Import Control Ordinance (Cap. 292). |
13 December 1982 |
|
|
13 December 1982 |
|
Whether the applicant’s imported records qualified as bona fide personal baggage under the Open General Licence.
Import Control Ordinance (Cap. 292) – importation without licence; Open General Licence (Govt Notice No.52/1980) – bona fide accompanied baggage exemption; deleted statutory provision – improper application of repealed paragraph; evidential requirement – satisfaction of Commissioner of Customs and Excise; mitigation for public service duties.
|
13 December 1982 |
|
|
13 December 1982 |
|
Circumstantial evidence (stick and drag marks) did not exclude reasonable alternative hypothesis; accused acquitted.
Criminal law – Murder – wholly circumstantial evidence – identification of deceased’s property – drag marks linking scene to accused’s premises – alibi – requirement that circumstantial facts be incompatible with innocence and exclude reasonable alternative hypotheses before conviction.
|
11 December 1982 |
|
Robbery conviction set aside for insufficient proof; substituted conviction for assault and sentence reduced.
Criminal law – robbery v. assault – sufficiency of evidence for theft; appellate substitution of conviction for lesser offence; variation of sentence on appeal.
|
10 December 1982 |
|
|
10 December 1982 |
|
Possession of recently stolen property shortly after a robbery upheld as sufficient to sustain conviction; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Robbery with violence – Recent possession of stolen property as admissible inference of involvement – Credibility of police witnesses – Appellate review of trial court’s factual findings.
|
10 December 1982 |
|
Recent possession of stolen goods plus flight supported burglary and theft convictions; appeal dismissed.
* Criminal law – Burglary and theft – Circumstantial evidence – Recent possession of stolen property and flight from scene as grounds for conviction – Innocent receiver issue and allegation of planting examined and rejected.
|
10 December 1982 |
|
|
10 December 1982 |
|
Appellant's flight and credible eyewitness evidence upheld housebreaking conviction despite no property being stolen.
Criminal law – Housebreaking (s.294(1) Penal Code) – Credibility of eyewitnesses – Alibi as afterthought – Flight and concealment as evidence of intent to steal – Absence of actual theft does not preclude conviction.
|
8 December 1982 |
|
|
8 December 1982 |
|
Convictions for unlawful possession of police uniform and personation quashed for failure to prove unlawful possession and absence of personation evidence.
* Criminal law – possession of service stores – burden of proof lies on prosecution to prove unlawful possession; retirement and alleged gift may be reasonably accepted absent contrary evidence from police authorities. * Criminal law – personation of public officer – mere wearing of police uniform in public does not constitute personation unless the accused assumes acts or functions by virtue of that uniform. * Criminal procedure – defective charge – an indictment must aver the acts constituting personation.
|
8 December 1982 |
|
Possession of suspected stock entrusted to village officials was lawful; conviction for unlawful possession was quashed.
* Criminal law – Unlawful possession of suspected stock – Whether facts disclosed an offence under s.20 of the Stock Theft Prevention Ordinance; * Plea admissibility – Equivocal plea and sufficiency of recorded admissions; * Customary/village custody – Lawful possession where animals entrusted to village officials; * Conviction safety – Quashing of conviction where dishonesty not proved.
|
7 December 1982 |
|
Plaintiff lacked standing and sued the wrong parties; proper challenge to Administrator‑General was time‑barred, so suit dismissed.
Probate and Administration — locus standi under s.33(1) to obtain letters of administration; powers of attorney do not empower agent to seek administration in own name; challenge to Administrator‑General’s grant must proceed under s.17 of Administrator‑General's Ordinance; six‑month limitation for challenging grants; suit dismissed with costs.
|
7 December 1982 |
|
Appeal dismissed: identification and corroborative evidence upheld; alibi rejected and sentence confirmed.
* Criminal law – possession of Government trophy (elephant tusks) – proof beyond reasonable doubt required for conviction.
* Evidence – identification – reliability where arrest occurred in daylight and accused consistently identified by arresting officer.
* Evidence – alibi – onus and evaluation of alibi evidence by trial court.
* Evidence – evidence of co-accused – corroboration and caution in reliance.
* Sentence – appellate review of sentence and confirmation where trial court properly exercised discretion.
|
6 December 1982 |
|
Convictions quashed where identification parades were improperly conducted and prosecution witnesses were unreliable.
Criminal law – Identification parades – Improperly conducted parades comprising police officers and organisers render identification evidence unsafe; Witness credibility – contradictions and inconsistent identifications undermine prosecutions case; Appeal – conviction unsafe where trial court relied on defective identification and unreliable witnesses.
|
6 December 1982 |
|
Occupiers who developed previously unclaimed land entitled to protection; appellate reversal based on untested opinions set aside.
Land law – possession and development of previously unclaimed land – evidentiary weight of trial court’s on-site inspection and sketch plan – appellate review – inadmissibility/weight of untested bystander opinion – remedy for wrongful felling of trees (compensation).
|
6 December 1982 |
|
|
6 December 1982 |
|
Appellant's conviction for theft by clerk upheld on credibility and circumstantial evidence; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Theft by clerk – s.271 and s.265 Penal Code – Strong‑room security (two locks and cash boxes) – Circumstantial and attendant procedural evidence – Credibility of accused’s defence that he was away and instructed not to lock – Appellate review of unsupported factual finding.
|
6 December 1982 |
|
Child’s unsworn evidence was improperly admitted but conviction upheld on medical proof and accused’s admissions.
Criminal law – Defilement of a girl under 14 – Child witness of tender years – Evidence Act s.117 – Mandatory inquiry into understanding of oath, intelligence and duty to tell the truth – Failure renders unsworn testimony incompetent – Conviction may still stand if independent medical evidence and accused’s admissions suffice.
|
4 December 1982 |
|
|
4 December 1982 |