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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1996 |
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A conviction based on an equivocal guilty plea and bare facts for receiving stolen property was unsafe and quashed.
Criminal law – receiving stolen property – plea of guilty must be supported by unequivocal facts – accused’s knowledge or reason to suspect – accused’s understanding of plea (illiteracy) – unsafe conviction quashed.
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30 December 1996 |
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Whether eligible but unregistered voters may obtain interlocutory relief to halt a by-election until registration disputes are adjudicated.
Constitutional and electoral law – right to registration and to vote – interlocutory relief – application of American Cyanamid principles – adequacy of damages – balance of convenience in election disputes.
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9 December 1996 |
| November 1996 |
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20 November 1996 |
| October 1996 |
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Age and first‑offender status do not preclude custodial sentences for serious housebreaking; the imposed imprisonment was confirmed.
Criminal law – Housebreaking and theft – Seriousness of burglary offences – Age and first‑offender status not by themselves grounds for non‑custodial sentence or suspension – Sentencing confirmed
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31 October 1996 |
| March 1996 |
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Appeal allowed where identification parade was defective, pre-parade exposure occurred, and visibility was poor.
Identification evidence – Defective identification parade (conducted by investigating constable) – Pre-parade viewing/suggestiveness – Poor visibility at dawn – Lack of descriptive particulars – Identification evidence unsafe
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29 March 1996 |
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High Court confirmed concurrent sentences but found them inadequate, affirmed DPP's right to appeal sentencing on questions of law.
Sentencing — Breaking into building (s311 Penal Code) — Adequacy of sentence; starting point three years — Multiple offences as aggravation — DPP right to appeal on question of law (s346 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code) — Delay in review process undermining remedy
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5 March 1996 |
| February 1996 |
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Convictions for cheating set aside where borrowed items were not returned but no evidence of trick or device existed.
Criminal law – Cheating (s.321 Penal Code) – Requirement of a trick or device – Borrowed goods not returned does not constitute cheating absent evidence of deception
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29 February 1996 |
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Unspecified "intimidation" did not satisfy robbery-with-violence requirements; conviction substituted to theft and sentence adjusted.
Criminal law – Robbery with violence – statutory requirement of actual violence or threat of actual violence – allegation of "intimidation" insufficiently particularised – conviction substituted to theft from a person (s278 read with s282(a) Penal Code) – sentence varied on review
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22 February 1996 |
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Section 329 conviction unsustainable where accused lacked possession at time of charge; past sale does not attract liability.
Criminal law – Possession – Section 329 Penal Code – Requires contemporaneous possession when charged; past possession insufficient for conviction
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22 February 1996 |
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Plaintiff entitled to recover taxed costs from a successful co‑defendant; K24,913.70 awarded.
Civil procedure — Costs — Taxed costs — Entitlement to recover taxed bill from a successful co-defendant — Authority: Bullock v London General Omnibus Co. (1907) KB 264.
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15 February 1996 |
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Robbery conviction quashed where no violence or threat to obtain/retain property; convicted of theft and sentenced to three years.
Criminal law – Robbery – Elements of robbery require violence or threat to obtain or retain property – Subsequent assault unrelated to retention cannot support robbery; substitution to theft from a person and sentence reduction
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14 February 1996 |
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Assessment of personal injury damages, hearsay inadmissibility of medical reports, rejection of vehicle claim due to discharge.
Damages for personal injury – distinction between pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses – assessment by comparison and adjustment for local economic conditions; admissibility of medical reports – hearsay unless doctor called; proof required for special damages; discharge as bar to vehicle claim; interest and exemplary damages not recoverable.
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13 February 1996 |
| January 1996 |
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A first-time theft offender should not be denied suspension merely because the offence is commonplace or crime has increased.
Sentencing — suspension of sentence under s.340 — first offenders — commonplaceness of offence not sufficient to refuse suspension — distinction between sentencing purposes and principles — upsurge in crime addressed by sentence severity, not denial of suspension
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31 January 1996 |
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Court increased the respondent's burglary sentence to three years, finding two years inadequate to deter crime.
Criminal law – Burglary and housebreaking – Sentencing principles – Starting points for repeat offenders (5–6 years) – Mitigating factors reduce sentences – Public interest and deterrence may justify enhancement on review – Concurrent sentences
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29 January 1996 |
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A nine-month sentence for stealing one oxcart tyre was manifestly excessive and required suspension and release.
Sentencing — Theft (low-value property) — Proportionality of sentence — Mitigating factors (youth, first offender) — Joint commission not automatically aggravating — Suspension of sentence
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29 January 1996 |
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Five-year sentence for armed, concerted rape confirmed; sentencing reasons required and guilty plea warranted only modest mitigation.
Criminal law – Rape – Sentencing – Requirement for sentencing reasons – Weight of mitigation (youth, first offender, guilty plea) – Aggravating factors (armed, in concert, assault, humiliation) – Confirmation on review
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24 January 1996 |
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A court cannot impose disparate sentences based on untested co-defendants' statements without giving the defendant a chance to respond.
Criminal law – Sentencing – Disparate sentences – Degree of participation – Reliance on co-defendants' or police statements – Plea of guilty requires opportunity for accused to present version – Caution with self-serving statements (R v Smith)
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24 January 1996 |
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Appeal dismissed: arrest injuries and guilty plea insufficient to outweigh aggravating group violence and injury to victim.
Criminal law – breaking into building and committing felony – sentence – mitigating factors – injury during arrest – guilty plea reduction – starting point three years – aggravation by group, violence and injury – appeal dismissed
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11 January 1996 |