|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| December 1988 |
|
|
Appeal dismissed — evidence established appellants broke into a warehouse and stole goods; defence was implausible.
Criminal law – Burglary and theft – Evidence of breaking and stealing; caught red-handed; credibility of defence that visit was innocent; appellate review of magistrate's factual findings.
|
31 December 1988 |
|
Presence in a warehouse with stolen goods and corroborated watchman testimony supports conviction for burglary and theft.
Criminal law – Burglary and theft – Sufficiency of evidence; credibility of accused’s defence; presence with stolen property and watchman’s corroboration – whether convictions sustained beyond reasonable doubt.
|
31 December 1988 |
|
Conviction quashed where recent-possession link was unsupported by evidence of timing or provenance.
* Criminal law – Burglary and stealing – proof beyond reasonable doubt – reliance on possession of property found in accused’s premises.* Criminal law – Recent possession doctrine – requirements for application: clear evidence of timing and connection to the theft charged.* Criminal procedure – Particularity of charge – effect of failing to list recovered item as stolen on the specified date.
|
31 December 1988 |
|
A brief admission can constitute an unequivocal guilty plea for simple possession offences; one-year sentence upheld.
Criminal Procedure Act s228(2) – plea of guilty – recording plea in accused’s words – equivocal plea – sufficiency of brief admissions for simple offences – requirement accused understands charge – sentencing proportionality for possession of illicit liquor.
|
28 December 1988 |
|
Eyewitness identification and corroborative testimony sufficiently proved robbery; conviction and sentence affirmed on appeal.
Criminal law – Robbery – Identification and credibility of eyewitness – Sufficiency of evidence to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt – Appellate review of magistrate’s factual findings.
|
28 December 1988 |
|
|
28 December 1988 |
|
Appellate court upheld robbery conviction on reliable identification but quashed the trial court’s order about employer deductions as not properly before it.
* Criminal law – Robbery – Identification evidence – Whether identification at scene and in court was reliable – conviction upheld.
* Criminal procedure – Appeal against conviction – safety of identification as ground of appeal.
* Civil vs criminal jurisdiction – Trial court’s impugned order concerning employer’s deduction of recovered/ missing funds from employee’s salary – matter civil and not properly before criminal court; such order quashed.
|
28 December 1988 |
|
Whether the applicant was properly identified and whether the magistrate imposed an appropriate sentence for armed robbery.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – Recognition by face and voice – Opportunity to observe and corroboration by dropped item and matching clothing.
* Criminal law – Armed robbery – Elements under sections 285 and 286 Penal Code – Use of violence, weapons and attendant sentencing consequences.
* Sentencing – Limits of subordinate courts, appropriateness of sentence, and committal to High Court for sentencing.
|
28 December 1988 |
|
Identification evidence was adequate; conviction for armed robbery upheld, but sentence noted as unduly lenient and should attract High Court committal.
Criminal law – Armed robbery (Penal Code ss. 285, 286) – Identification evidence – familiarity, voice and clothing corroboration – police corroboration (spent cartridges) – safety of conviction; Sentencing – subordinate court limits, apparent leniency, duty to commit serious robbery cases to High Court for appropriate sentence.
|
28 December 1988 |
|
Appeal dismissed: physical and circumstantial evidence sustained conviction for theft from a train.
Criminal law – theft from a train – whether goods found near railway linked to accused prove theft from train; evidential weight of minor timing inconsistencies; assessment of circumstantial and physical evidence to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
|
27 December 1988 |
|
The appellant's appeal against a stealing conviction was dismissed; police identification and conduct were held sufficient to support the conviction.
* Criminal law – Appeal against conviction – Sufficiency of evidence and eyewitness (police) identification. * Evidence – Found property and chain of custody – police duty and conduct in releasing found items. * Reasonable doubt – alleged police culpability and its effect on conviction.
|
24 December 1988 |
|
Discrepancy in registration plates did not undermine prosecution; admissions and fingerprint evidence sustained conviction for possession of stolen property.
Criminal law – possession of stolen property; proof of knowledge or reason to know; falsified number plates vs. matching engine/chassis and documentary identifiers; evaluation of accused’s admissions and fingerprint evidence; appellate review of alternative conviction.
|
23 December 1988 |
|
Appellate court substituted imprisonment with higher fines for first-offender assailants and upheld increased compensation.
Criminal law – Assault causing actual bodily harm – Sentencing principles on appeal – appellate court interference only where sentence illegal, manifestly inadequate or excessive – first offenders and avoidance of unnecessary custody – compensation orders and consideration of inflation.
|
23 December 1988 |
|
Conviction for robbery quashed because identification and corroborative evidence were insufficient; adverse inference unwarranted.
Criminal law – robbery with violence – identification evidence – recent possession doctrine – lack of corroboration (no exhibits, no medical evidence, no eyewitnesses) – delay before arrest – accused’s silence and adverse inference under s.231 Criminal Procedure Act – conviction quashed for insufficient evidence.
|
23 December 1988 |
|
Refusal to hand over money and unspecified insults did not constitute sufficient provocation to excuse or reduce a murder conviction.
Criminal law – Murder – Provocation as partial defence – Provocation must be wrongful act or insult likely to deprive an ordinary person of self‑control; standard to be measured by the accused’s local/community milieu. Evidence – Dying declaration – weight and reliability. Burden of proof – prosecution must disprove accused’s account beyond reasonable doubt.
|
23 December 1988 |
|
Appeal dismissed for failure to attach the certified order required by Order 39 Rule 1.
Civil procedure — Appeal — Requirement that memorandum of appeal be accompanied by the certified copy of the order appealed against (Order 39 r.1); failure to extract formal order is fatal; document styled "decree" does not substitute for an extracted order; preliminary objections disposing of appeal without deciding competency of original forum.
|
23 December 1988 |
|
Presence at premises alone does not sustain conviction; active possession and attempted sale justify conviction of co-accused.
* Criminal law – breaking and stealing – recovery and possession of stolen property – sufficiency of evidence to convict.
* Circumstantial evidence – presence on premises and ownership/rental of room – limits on inferences.
* Appellate review – whether trial magistrate’s inferences are reasonable and supported by record.
|
21 December 1988 |
|
Appellate court quashed conviction where magistrate relied on extraneous untested matters and summarily refused a transfer, denying a fair trial.
Criminal law – obtaining money by false pretence – credibility of witnesses; Evidence – inadmissible reliance on untested/extraneous information (police detective’s alleged overhearing; stories outside court); Criminal procedure – judge’s duty of impartiality – refusal to transfer trial/recuse without reasons; Fair trial – right to adequate opportunity to cross-examine; Quashing conviction for procedural irregularity.
|
21 December 1988 |
|
Credibility and corroboration upheld conviction for misappropriation of exhibit money despite procedural irregularity.
* Criminal law – Theft of exhibit money – Credibility of accused versus prosecution witnesses – Corroboration by police witnesses – Failure to follow exhibit procedures (failure to enter money in exhibit register) – Appellate review of factual findings and credibility.
|
21 December 1988 |
|
Magistrate had jurisdiction over trespass to unregistered land; malicious prosecution damages upheld; joinder was proper.
Civil procedure — jurisdiction of Magistrate's Court over disputes concerning unregistered/unsurveyed land where issue is trespass; Malicious prosecution — section 86(a) discharge does not necessarily bar civil claim — acquittal and surrounding conduct relevant to malice; Joinder of causes — declaration of ownership and damages for malicious prosecution may properly be joined when arising from same subject matter.
|
20 December 1988 |
|
Reported
Civil Practice and Procedure - Suing - Who may sue - Suing on behalf- Whether a letter authorising a person to settle a claim authorises such person to file a suit.
Civil Practice and Procedure - Plaint - The plaintiff avers that the driver was “authorised to drive a vehicle" - Whether the same as “driving in the course of one's employment" - Whether plaintiff discloses cause of action. |
20 December 1988 |
|
Appeal against sentence for causing grievous harm dismissed; trial court’s sentencing discretion was not improperly exercised.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Appellate interference with discretionary sentences – principles for when an appellate court may vary or overturn a sentence; Criminal law – Causing grievous harm – mitigation, provocation and relationship between parties; Criminal procedure – Whether compensation should be ordered where trial court omitted it.
|
17 December 1988 |
|
Failure to attach the decree to the memorandum of appeal renders the applicant's appeal incompetent and leads to dismissal with costs.
Civil Procedure Code, Order 39 Rule 1(1) — memorandum of appeal must be accompanied by copy of decree; failure to comply renders appeal incompetent; court may dismiss appeal; discretion to dispense not exercised.
|
17 December 1988 |
Civil Practice and Procedure - Appeal - Memorandum of appeal not accompanied by a copy decree - Effect - Order 39Rule 1(1) ofthe Civil Procedure Code. Believing that it would take a long time to obtain a copy of a decree, counsel for the appellant filed and presented his memorandum of appeal without a copy of the decree. |
17 December 1988 |
|
Whether a fresh suit was time‑barred; court held exclusion and ministerial extension made the fresh suit timely.
* Limitation of actions – Law of Limitation Act – computation of limitation period – effect of Minister of Justice’s order extending limitation period – exclusion of time while application for leave to withdraw prior suit pending – fresh suit not statute‑barred.
|
13 December 1988 |
|
Court quashed refusal to appoint an electric inspector and ordered appointment, finding a mandatory duty under the Electricity Ordinance.
Administrative law – judicial review – certiorari and mandamus – refusal to appoint statutorily empowered inspector – ultra vires decision; Electricity law – duties under Electricity Ordinance s.10 and Electricity Rules (rule 45) – consumer right to inspector in disputed disconnection; jurisdiction – exhaustion of statutory appeal not required where appeal provisions inapplicable.
|
13 December 1988 |
|
Whether a disputed shamba is clan property and whether the occupier may alienate it without clan consent.
Land law — customary/clan land — determination whether parcel is clan (communal) property or individual property; appellate review of Primary Court factual findings; remedy restraining alienation of communal land without clan consent.
|
10 December 1988 |
|
Application to vary Registrar’s consent order over a $114,000 security deposit dismissed as time‑barred and devoid of grounds to set aside consent.
Civil procedure – consent order – variation of consent order – consent binding and only varied for fraud, collusion, agreement contrary to policy, or consent given without sufficient material facts; limitation – s.26(c) Law of Limitations Act inapplicable where applicant knew material facts; deposit ordered to remain under earlier ruling.
|
8 December 1988 |
|
Withdrawal of criminal proceedings under s.22(2) does not by itself amount to favourable termination for malicious prosecution claims.
Criminal procedure — withdrawal under s.22(2) — does not necessarily equal termination in accused's favour; malicious prosecution/defamation requires favourable termination and proof of malice; administrative/suspended withdrawals insufficient.
|
1 December 1988 |
| November 1988 |
|
|
Appeal struck out as abandoned and notice of sentence enhancement discharged for want of service and prosecution.
Appeal — abandonment for want of prosecution; service of notice — failure to serve appellant; interests of justice — discontinuance of notice of enhancement of sentence.
|
29 November 1988 |
|
Appeal dismissed: recent possession and sale of Health Centre property upheld as sufficient evidence to affirm conviction and sentence.
* Criminal law – Theft – Recent possession of stolen property and sale as evidence of guilt. * Criminal procedure – Appropriateness of charge – store-breaking and stealing (s.296(1)) v. stealing by person in public service. * Appeal – evaluation of factual findings and sentence review.
|
28 November 1988 |
|
A Primary Court lacks jurisdiction over registered land; its proceedings are void and orders are set aside.
Primary Courts — jurisdiction — proceedings affecting land registered under the Land Registration Ordinance — s.18(1)(a)(i) Magistrates' Courts Act; Registered land — certificate of occupancy — Primary Court lacks jurisdiction; Nullity — proceedings conducted without jurisdiction are void; Appeal — setting aside orders and permitting fresh application in proper court.
|
25 November 1988 |
|
A magistrate may direct the prosecution to produce witnesses or close its case to protect accused persons’ liberty; acquittal upheld.
* Criminal procedure — Adjournment — Judicial discretion to order prosecution to produce witness or close case where delay and prolonged remand threaten accused’s liberty.
* Right to a timely trial — Protection against indefinite remand — Legitimate basis for refusing adjournment.
* Prosecutorial election to close case — Continued participation post-closing does not necessarily amount to abandonment of prosecution.
|
25 November 1988 |
|
Attempted robbery conviction quashed for lack of evidence; unlawful firearm possession conviction upheld and sentence increased to nine years.
Criminal law – sufficiency of evidence for attempted robbery – where no theft or attempt to take property established, attempted robbery conviction cannot stand; Criminal law – unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition – possession established by attendant and police evidence; Sentencing – sentence imposed under repealed statutory provisions illegal or inadequate — appellate revision permissible to appropriate custodial term.
|
25 November 1988 |
|
Attempted robbery conviction quashed for lack of evidence; unlawful firearm possession conviction upheld and sentence increased to nine years.
* Criminal law – Elements of attempted robbery – requirement of an act showing intent to steal or taking/demand of property; mere presence with a weapon and persons lying down insufficient. * Evidence – credibility and minor discrepancies – minor inconsistencies in eyewitness and police evidence do not necessarily defeat a cogent prosecution case. * Sentencing – sentence imposed under repealed statutory provisions unlawful; appellate revision permissible to impose appropriate custodial term for unlawful possession of firearm.
|
25 November 1988 |
|
On second appeal the court refused to disturb lower courts’ credibility findings and dismissed the appeal.}
Second appeal — appellate interference with findings of fact and credibility — appellate court will not overturn primary/district court credibility assessments absent misdirection or insufficiency of evidence; ownership/entitlement to property confirmed on record evidence.
|
25 November 1988 |
|
|
25 November 1988 |
|
An appellate court must not decide issues not raised at trial; primary court judgment restored when district court overreached.
Civil procedure – Appeal – Scope of appellate review – Appellate court must not decide or grant relief on matters not pleaded or canvassed at trial; appellate decision set aside where it pronounces on future or dehors issues; restoration of trial court judgment.
|
24 November 1988 |
|
Appeal allowed: identification evidence and recovery of items were insufficiently reliable to sustain the conviction.
* Criminal law – Evidence – Identification evidence – Reliability and sufficiency of eyewitness identification. * Criminal law – Recovery of stolen property – Whether discovery of goods at accused’s premises corroborates identification. * Criminal appeal – Conviction unsafe where identification evidence is weak and corroboration is inadequate.
|
22 November 1988 |
|
Court set aside excessive sentences and substituted lawful five-year terms per count, to run consecutively, under section 170 limits.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Excessive sentence – Limits of subordinate courts under section 170 Criminal Procedure Act – youth and guilty plea as mitigation versus gravity of endangering aviation – concurrent versus consecutive sentences.
|
21 November 1988 |
|
Appellate court restored trial finding that the respondent’s cultivation was permissive and temporary, setting aside the district court judgment.
* Land/trespass – cultivation of adjoining shamba – whether cultivation was permissive (temporary) or amounted to permanent possession.
* Evidence – credibility of witnesses and appellate restraint – when appellate court may or may not disturb trial court’s factual findings.
* Appeal – setting aside district court reversal where trial court’s findings are supported by evidence.
|
19 November 1988 |
|
Appellate court affirms conviction for forgery and related offences; procedural signature defects deemed curable, appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Forgery, uttering false documents and obtaining money by false pretences – sufficiency of evidence and identification; Criminal procedure – omission of magistrates’ signatures on recorded witness evidence (s.210(1)(a)) and apparent single-judge authored judgment – curable irregularities not occasioning failure of justice.
|
18 November 1988 |
|
Appeal allowed: identification evidence insufficient, convictions and sentences set aside and prisoners ordered released.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – Complaints about lack of particulars (clothing, lighting) – Whether identification evidence sufficient to support conviction.
* Criminal procedure – Appeal and revision – Setting aside convictions and sentences where identification evidence is inadequate.
* Sentencing – Magistrate exceeding statutory sentencing power – improper 12‑year sentence for burglary under Minimum Sentences Act.
|
18 November 1988 |
|
Failure to join the occupier as a party precludes a court ordering recovery; lower courts’ factual findings on compensation were upheld.
* Civil procedure – necessary parties and joinder – court cannot adjudicate rights or order recovery against a non-party; third party must be joined. * Civil appeals – concurrent findings of fact by lower courts on number of trees and compensation will not be disturbed absent clear reason. * Remedies – distinction between compensation for loss and recovery of land when third-party occupation is involved.
|
17 November 1988 |
|
Extension of time to appeal a criminal judgment filed in a civil cause is procedurally incompetent and rejected.
* Civil procedure – Procedural competence – Application for extension of time to appeal a criminal judgment improperly filed in a civil cause – application found misconceived and incompetent.
* Criminal appeals – Extension of time – Delay and custody as excuses – absence of demonstrated good cause for six-month inactivity.
* Jurisdictional/formal requirements – Correct forum and procedure essential before merits are considered.
|
16 November 1988 |
|
Circumstantial guilt must exclude reasonable alternatives; suspicion alone cannot convict, while reliable identification may uphold conviction.
* Criminal law – circumstantial evidence – must lead to irresistible inference of guilt and exclude other reasonable hypotheses before conviction. * Criminal law – suspicion insufficient to sustain conviction. * Criminal law – identification evidence – reliability critical; identification after the event must be scrutinized but may support conviction if cogent.
|
16 November 1988 |
|
Division of matrimonial assets may only be ordered after a court grants or subsequent to a decree of separation or divorce.
Family law — Law of Marriage Act s114(1) — Division of matrimonial assets only when granting or subsequent to decree of separation/divorce; talaq under Islamic law is only evidence under s107(3) and does not itself dissolve marriage.
|
15 November 1988 |
|
Prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the applicants obtained goods by false pretences; convictions and sentences upheld.
Criminal law – Obtaining goods by false pretences (s.302 Penal Code) – Burden of proof – Credibility of prosecution witnesses – Documentary evidence – Sentence review.
|
14 November 1988 |
|
Eyewitness identification corroborated by other testimony upheld a robbery conviction; appeal dismissed.
Criminal law – Robbery with violence – Identification evidence of single eyewitness – Corroboration by other witnesses; Evidentiary sufficiency – Non‑production of exhibit (bus) and non‑calling of certain witnesses; Appeal against conviction – Whether reasonable doubt shown; Sentence – minimum prescribed term.
|
11 November 1988 |
|
Appeal dismissed: prosecution proved burglary and theft beyond reasonable doubt; defendants' alternative arrest explanations rejected.
Criminal law – Burglary and theft – Whether prosecution proved breaking in with intent and stealing beyond reasonable doubt – Credibility and corroboration of militia/watchman, police and factory management evidence – Defence claims of wrongful arrest and lack of identity cards rejected.
|
11 November 1988 |