Results.
40 judgments found.
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| June 2008 |
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Appeal against assault convictions dismissed where corroborated eyewitness evidence proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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Criminal Law — Offences Against the Person — Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm — Appeal Against Conviction
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30 June 2008 |
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Court awarded K276,936 to the applicant for injuries from the respondent's negligent driving, including K250,000 general damages.
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Negligence — assessment of damages — special damages proved — general damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenities — permanent incapacity 5% — no award for loss of earnings absent evidence — default judgment assessment
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30 June 2008 |
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Order 113 is inappropriate where the applicant's remedy arises from a mortgage/charge, not trespass.
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Procedural law — Order 113 summary possession — limited to trespassers; Housing loan schemes — create charge/mortgage relationship; enforcement under Registered Land Act/common law, not Order 113 when no formal charge executed.
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30 June 2008 |
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Bail denied where affidavit evidence shows fatal assault and self-defence claim unsupported; interest of justice outweighs release.
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Criminal law — Bail application — Accused charged in relation to fatal assault — Self-defence claim on affidavit — Interest of justice — Bail refused.
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30 June 2008 |
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Bail denied where unchallenged State affidavit, recovery of firearms, fatality, and applicant's weak community ties indicated flight risk.
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Criminal procedure — Bail — Discretionary nature of bail hearings — Court may rely on affidavits and second‑hand evidence; no obligation to inspect witness statements — Illegal search allegation insufficient when State affidavit unchallenged — Foreign national status and weak community ties relevant to flight risk.
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30 June 2008 |
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Magistrate courts lack jurisdiction to decide title disputes in land; such proceedings are void and belong in the High Court.
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Civil Procedure — Jurisdiction — Determination of title to land — Magistrate Courts lack jurisdiction under s 39(2)(a) Courts Act Cap 3:02
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Property — Ownership disputes — Appropriate forum — Exclusive or primary jurisdiction of the High Court
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27 June 2008 |
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Court awarded custody to the mother, prioritising the child’s welfare over the father’s superior finances.
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Family law — Child custody — High Court jurisdiction; welfare of the child paramount; mothers preferred for young children; financial resources not determinative; access and maintenance ordered.
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26 June 2008 |
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Application for interlocutory injunction in a land-title dispute refused under American Cynamid tests; pursue substantive action.
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Interlocutory injunction — American Cynamid principles — serious question to be tried — balance of convenience — prior judgment affecting title dispute — adequacy of damages.
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19 June 2008 |
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Court finds no K50,000 award, awards appellant K10,000 for labour, limits recovery of disputed household items, preserves father's access to children.
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Family law — division of matrimonial property — evidence of contribution to business — admissibility and weight of unexplained bank/foreign-currency documents — compensation for domestic labour — enforcement of prior payment order — children's residence and parental access.
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18 June 2008 |
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Default maintenance order set aside; appellant ordered to pay K1,000 monthly and build housing for children.
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Family Law —
Child Maintenance
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Procedural fairness where magistrate hears only one party — Setting aside irregular orders
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Maintenance amount, duration and ancillary housing orders — Parental responsibility despite limited means
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18 June 2008 |
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Contradictory evidence by the appellant undermined possession claim; appeal dismissed and lower-court award of the garden upheld.
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Land dispute — site inspection discretionary; traditional authorities as witnesses; party responsibility to call witnesses; documentary evidence must be tendered on record; appellate review of credibility and bias allegations.
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18 June 2008 |
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Appellants bound by admitted loan terms; court awarded reasonable travel and accommodation refunds without receipts and ordered instalment repayment.
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Civil debt enforcement — loan agreement accepted by debtors — credibility of expense claims without receipts — quantification of transport and accommodation costs — apportionment between co-debtors — waiver of interest — court-imposed instalment payments; default interest on application.
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18 June 2008 |
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Court ordered family home registered in the children’s names to protect their interests and prevent sale by respondent.
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Family law — dissolution of marriage — distribution of matrimonial property — protection of children’s proprietary interests; registration of property in children’s names to prevent alienation; custody considerations under customary law; injunction against sale by respondent or third party.
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18 June 2008 |
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Conviction quashed where crucial bail document was not produced and a witness was improperly treated as hostile.
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Criminal Law
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Evidence — Hostile witness — Foundation required before treating witness as hostile
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Offence of aiding prisoner to escape — Necessity of proving documentary basis for release
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Criminal Procedure — Benefit of doubt — Failure to produce crucial document and call key witness warrants acquittal
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18 June 2008 |
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Summary judgment entered where defendant’s general denial was unsupported; unpaid hospital fees, collection charges and interest awarded.
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Civil procedure — Summary judgment (Order 14) — Requirements: notice of intention to defend, service of statement of claim, supporting affidavit verifying facts and stating no defense — Documentary evidence (invoices, statements, payment receipts, identification of responsible person) — General denial insufficient to raise triable issue — Judgment for unpaid hospital fees with collection charges and interest.
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18 June 2008 |
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Conviction quashed where crucial bail bond was not produced and hostile-witness procedure was flawed.
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Criminal law — aiding escape — failure to produce crucial documentary evidence (bail bond) — improper hostile-witness procedure — unchallenged assertion of remand warrant — reasonable doubt — conviction quashed.
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18 June 2008 |
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Discharge under s337(1)(a) requires a recorded admonition; court entered conviction for criminal trespass after finding sufficient unchallenged evidence.
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Criminal procedure — s337(1)(a) discharge without conviction requires mandatory admonition/caution and recording; Criminal trespass — s314 — intent to intimidate/insult/annoy established by threats, forced deposit of property and harassment; review of discharge and entry of conviction where trial evidence proved offence beyond reasonable doubt.
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17 June 2008 |
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Magistrate court lacked jurisdiction over a title dispute; lower-court proceedings set aside and appellant may sue in High Court.
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Land law — jurisdiction — title and ownership disputes — Magistrate Court lacks jurisdiction under s39(2)(a) Courts Act Cap 3:02 — proceedings null and void — remedy: commence fresh High Court proceedings.
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15 June 2008 |
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A Deputy Chairperson sitting alone in a factual dispute lacked jurisdiction; the judgment was set aside and remitted for retrial.
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Labour law — Industrial Relations Court composition — Section 67 — Deputy Chairperson may sit alone only where dispute involves questions of law; matters of fact require two assessors (one employees' and one employers' representative) — waiver by parties does not cure jurisdictional defect — decision of irregularly constituted court void — remittal for retrial.
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12 June 2008 |
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A purchaser who fails to search the land registry cannot displace an earlier-registered caution; caution upheld until debt is paid.
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Land law — caution (security interest) — priority of earlier registered caution over later purchase; bona fide purchaser duty to search land registry; fraudulent removal of caution; right to maintain caution pending satisfaction of judgment debt.
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12 June 2008 |
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Plaintiff lawfully acquired title; District Commissioner unlawfully revoked transfer, so administrator must compensate plaintiff.
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Property law — valid transfer of traditional housing plots — effect of prior transfer and magistrate decision — limits on administrator/District Commissioner to revoke transfers — bona fide purchaser — compensation and damages for wrongful revocation.
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10 June 2008 |
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Applicant succeeds against driver and insurer for collision damages; registration records did not establish third-party ownership liability.
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Motor-vehicle collision — negligence for turning into oncoming lane — burden of proof on plaintiff — insurer’s liability despite disputed policy certificate — computerized registration records insufficient without supporting physical files — owner’s presumption rebutted by missing/mismatching documentation.
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10 June 2008 |
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Appellants’ convictions for forgery and uttering upheld; procedural complaints and missing co-conspirator did not vitiate the trial.
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Criminal law — Forgery, uttering and conspiracy — Sufficiency of evidence — bank testimony and documentary exhibits; Right to counsel — no showing of request at trial; Bail — discretionary; Failure to call alleged co-conspirator — duty of accused; Alleged bias — no substantiation; Sentence — not excessive.
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10 June 2008 |
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Stay pending appeal refused: appellant failed to show appeal would be nugatory or damages inadequate.
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10 June 2008 |
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Subordinate courts lack jurisdiction to determine land title; trial judgment set aside as a nullity.
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Civil Procedure — Jurisdiction — Determination of title to land by subordinate courts — Subordinate courts lack jurisdiction — Courts Act s 39(2)(a)
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9 June 2008 |
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Court varied lower-court bail: each applicant to provide two sureties bound K70,000 (not cash); other conditions retained.
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Criminal procedure — Bail — Variation of bail conditions — Sureties — Monetary bond (K70,000) — Not cash — Retention of other conditions.
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8 June 2008 |
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Convictions affirmed; sentences reduced and suspended due to appellant's ill health, conditional on no similar reoffending within two years.
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Criminal law — Corrupt practices and public office — Abuse of public office; Theft by public servant (reduced to simple theft); Forgery and uttering a false document; Sufficiency of evidence; Appeal on points of law; Sentence reduction and suspension on medical/compassionate grounds.
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8 June 2008 |
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Payment into Court does not bar execution of a perfected judgment; the respondent entitled to sheriff fees.
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Civil Procedure
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Payment Into Court — Effect of Order 22 payments on perfected judgments — Payment into Court does not discharge a perfected judgment
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Execution — Levying of execution and Sheriff’s fees — Validity of fees where execution was actually levied and seizure attempted
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5 June 2008 |
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Payment into Court under Order 22 does not discharge a perfected judgment; execution and sheriff fees remained justified.
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Civil procedure — Order 22 payment into Court — distinction between payment into Court as voluntary satisfaction and compliance with a perfected judgment; execution and entitlement to sheriff's fees.
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5 June 2008 |
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Time for compliance and appeal runs from signing of the formal order; execution after signing was valid.
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Civil Procedure
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Execution of Judgment — Timing of execution and commencement of compliance periods — Order 42 r1/4; Order 42 r3; Order 42 r3/3
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Appeals and Time Limits — Time for appeal runs from signing/perfection of formal order — Order 42 r3/6; Order 59 r4
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4 June 2008 |
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Whether execution was regular when judgment pronounced before, and formal order signed after, the pronouncement.
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Civil procedure — summary judgment — effect of judgment and date it takes effect — judgment takes effect on pronouncement; formal order merely gives effect; execution only after formal order perfected; time for appeal runs from signing/perfection of order (Order 42, Order 59).
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4 June 2008 |
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Conviction for theft by servant quashed where evidence was insufficient and investigating officer's hearsay was inadmissible.
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Criminal law — Theft by servant — Admissibility of investigating officer’s testimony — hearsay versus scene description — sufficiency of evidence and reasonable doubt — failure to prove custody/handover — conviction quashed.
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3 June 2008 |
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Plaintiff proved an oral variation and recovery for consumables and unpaid extra work; awarded interest and costs.
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Contract law — written contract and oral variation — oral agreement for extra work enforceable where parties’ conduct and prior dealings support it; breach — non-payment for extra services and consumables; damages and interest awarded; costs referred for assessment.
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2 June 2008 |
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Appellate court upheld a 20‑month sentence for passport fraud, finding the magistrate properly weighed mitigating and aggravating factors.
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Criminal Law
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Offences Relating to Citizenship and Travel Documents — False declaration and uttering false documents under citizenship and penal statutes
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Sentencing — Appellate review of magistrate's sentence — Consideration of mitigating and aggravating factors — Whether interference warranted
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2 June 2008 |
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Court held s316(1) inapplicable to customary land and quashed the applicants’ convictions.
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Land Law — Customary Land — Applicability of statutory title provisions to customary land — Lands Act s25, s26
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Criminal Law — Unlawful Use of Land — Whether s316(1) Penal Code applies where no freehold or leasehold title exists
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2 June 2008 |
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Conviction quashed where trial court altered particulars, misapplied burden of proof, and evidence showed shortage not proven theft.
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Criminal law — Theft by servant — Insufficient evidence to prove theft beyond reasonable doubt — Shortage versus theft; Criminal procedure — Particulars of charge — Right to be informed with sufficient particularity (constitutional guarantee); Trial court may not amend particulars or enter alternative verdicts in judgment — prosecution must amend; Hearsay evidence — expunge then reassess sufficiency; Burden of proof — prosecution’s duty and inadmissibility of drawing adverse inferences from silence.
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2 June 2008 |
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Court confirmed custodial sentence for passport fraud, finding aggravating cross-border conspiracy outweighed mitigating factors.
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Criminal law — passport and identity fraud — uttering false documents — sentencing discretion — mitigation v. aggravation — cross-border conspiracy; misuse of faith-based documentation; harm to passport integrity.
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2 June 2008 |
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Conviction under Penal Code s316(1) unsustainable where disputed land was customary land, not freehold or leasehold.
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Criminal law — Unlawful use of land (Penal Code s.316(1)) — Scope excludes customary land; Land Act s.25 — customary land vested in President; rights to user not title; purported sale by user invalid; traditional authority determinations on occupation and use relevant — conviction quashed.
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2 June 2008 |
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Robbery conviction quashed for lack of evidence; appellants found liable for unlawful wounding and released.
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Criminal law — robbery — element of stealing by use or threat of violence — insufficiency of evidence to prove robbery; unlawful wounding (s241 Penal Code) established by admitted assault; juvenile sentencing irregularities under Children and Young Persons Act; appellate quashing of unsafe convictions and setting aside sentences.
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2 June 2008 |
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Court found conduct amounted to indecent assault, not attempted rape, quashed conviction and ordered accused's release.
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Criminal law — guilty plea — equivocal plea (drunkenness) — admission of facts curing defective plea — distinction between attempted rape and indecent assault — amendment of charge — quashing conviction and setting aside sentence — release from custody.
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2 June 2008 |