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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1940 |
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An inquest cannot be held without a body unless death is certain and the body destroyed or irrecoverable; the inquest was quashed.
Inquest law – requirement of a body – exception where body destroyed or irrecoverable (s.10) – ejusdem generis interpretation – need for clear evidence of death before inquest – quashing of inquest where death not established.
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31 December 1940 |
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A trustee may claim a bankrupt’s earnings above a reasonable maintenance allowance; court fixed a £42 monthly retention.
Bankruptcy Act 1914 s38 — trustee entitled to bankrupt’s future earnings; definition of "property" includes debts due from employer; maintenance allowance for bankrupt; trustee may intervene without prior notice or court order; Hill v. Settle and In re Graydon cited.
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31 December 1940 |
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A mine manager retains personal criminal responsibility unless he proves he took all reasonable measures; delegation alone is insufficient.
Mining law — Managerial responsibility — Regulations 10(1), 10(3), 10A(1)-(2) — "All reasonable means" — Delegation does not automatically relieve manager — Systemic failures attract liability; isolated lapses may not.
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31 December 1940 |
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A "guilty but insane" special verdict is an acquittal not revisable by the High Court, though it is appealable.
Criminal law — Special verdicts — "Guilty but insane" constitutes an acquittal — Revision excluded by section 309(1)(b) Criminal Procedure Code — Acquittals appealable under section 300(c) Criminal Procedure Code.
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31 December 1940 |
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Corporal punishment for adults is permissible only in recorded special circumstances; magistrates must state those reasons.
Corporal punishment — adults — only in special circumstances — Magistrate must record reasons — Instructions to Magistrates para 55 — Penal Code s.27 — caution against extending caning for adults.
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31 December 1940 |
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Sentencing must be guided by five principles—value of subject matter, antecedents, youth, plea, and local prevalence.
Sentencing principles — intrinsic value of subject matter; antecedents; youth; conduct at trial (plea); prevalence of crime; series of offences as single lapse.
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31 December 1940 |
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Compensation under s.164 CPC cannot be awarded in criminal proceedings for imputations of witchcraft that are essentially civil in nature.
Witchcraft Ordinance – imputation of witchcraft as criminal libel – spoken words not chargeable as defamation under Penal Code – limits on awarding compensation under s.164 Criminal Procedure Code – distinction between criminal remedy and civil remedies; native customary law not a ground for compensation in criminal proceedings where matter is essentially civil.
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31 December 1940 |
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Subordinate Courts may take similar outstanding charges into account at sentencing, subject to admission and procedural safeguards.
Criminal procedure — Consideration of outstanding charges in sentencing — Requirement of similarity and clear admission by accused — Prosecution consent if committal elsewhere — Applicability to Subordinate Courts under s.13.
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31 December 1940 |
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A child's out-of-court complaint to her mother is inadmissible unless the child testifies; medical evidence alone cannot support conviction.
Criminal law – Indecent assault – Admissibility of prior complaint evidence by mother when child does not testify – Such evidence is confirmatory, not proof – Medical evidence alone insufficient – Accused should not be called to defence when prosecution evidence insufficient.
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31 December 1940 |
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Keep-left regulation must be construed purposively; literal application improper absent other road users or potential danger.
Township regulations; Regulation 13 (keep left) – statutory interpretation – literal versus purposive construction – application only where actual or potential danger or other road users exist – limits to subordinate legislation’s scope (s.27(a)(8) Cap. 26/Cap. 120).
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31 December 1940 |
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Marginal notes and chapter headings do not impose a negligence requirement on offences under section 214; convictions upheld.
Statutory interpretation — Penal Code s214 construed as independent offence; marginal notes and chapter headings are not part of the statute and do not impose a negligence requirement.
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31 December 1940 |
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General deficiency alone does not prove embezzlement; reasonable doubt required, and acquittal cannot be overturned on revision.
Embezzlement — general deficiency insufficient alone; indictment should specify 'between' dates; reasonable doubt required for acquittal; High Court cannot overturn subordinate court acquittal on revision.
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31 December 1940 |
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Accomplice testimony requires independent corroboration; prior statements by a testifying witness were inadmissible, but convictions upheld.
Criminal law – accomplice evidence – requirement of independent corroboration – inadmissibility of prior statements by a testifying witness – duty of prison officers regarding escaped prisoners – harbouring and accessory after the fact.
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31 December 1940 |
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Accused charged with similar but unconnected offences should have been indicted separately, but no order made in absence of injustice.
Criminal procedure — Joinder of accused — Similar offences under same statutory provision — Offences unconnected to one another should be tried separately — No remedial order where no injustice resulted.
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31 December 1940 |
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A non-corporate firm cannot be convicted; individuals must be prosecuted and a manager's plea on its behalf is incompetent.
Non-corporate firm — no separate legal personality — cannot be charged or fined; manager's plea on firm's behalf incompetent; prosecute individuals instead.
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31 December 1940 |
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An uneducated accused must be clearly informed of the statutory age element and proviso before a guilty plea is accepted.
Criminal law – defilement – element of age in charge – necessity of explaining statutory age and proviso to an uneducated accused; judicial notice of different age-conception and use of non-year indicators (e.g., puberty) – plea equivocality – retrial ordered.
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31 December 1940 |
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A foreign decree nisi plus the respondent's admission can establish adultery and justify a decree nisi.
Divorce—adultery—proof by foreign decree nisi—respondent's written admission—Ruck v. Ruck; Little v. Little—combined evidence sufficient to establish adultery.
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31 December 1940 |
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Solicitor entitled to allowances for portions of travel days under Item 45, but not to detention allowances absent prior/subsequent detention.
Costs — Subordinate Court Rules Appendix D Item 45 (now Item 49) — travel and day allowances for portions of a day — detention requirement for second part of item — calculation of allowances.
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31 December 1940 |
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Money paid into court as security for a potential judgment belongs to the applicant, not the trustee in bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy – Trustee’s claim to funds – Money paid into court to abide event of judgment – Payment into court as security for successful creditor – Interim receiving order does not defeat plaintiff’s secured claim.
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31 December 1940 |