This judgment has been anonymised to protect personal information in compliance with the law.
Loading PDF...
This document is 670.3 KB. Do you want to load it?
Cited documents 5
Judgment
3|
Conviction and life sentence upheld despite exclusion of an illegally obtained warning statement; child witness evidence deemed trustworthy.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Single child witness evidence and trustworthiness (Woji principles; rejection of double cautionary rule); illegally obtained warning statement and its exclusion; late and uncorroborated alibi (Thebus); minimum sentencing under s 51(1) and Schedule 2 – no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from life imprisonment.
|
|
Reconsideration refused: Biowatch does not bar a costs order where no grave injustice or misapplication of discretion occurred.
Reconsideration under s 17(2)(f) — exceptional remedy to prevent grave injustice; Biowatch principle — costs protection in public-interest constitutional litigation is primary but qualified; judicial discretion to award costs preserved; effect of intervening precedent (Women’s Legal Centre Trust) on reasonableness of continuing appeal; scope of s 17(2)(f) — whether it permits costs-only reconsideration.
|
|
Reported
Conviction based on inconsistent single child witness evidence was unsafe; appeal succeeds and conviction set aside.
Criminal law – Appeal against conviction – Cautionary rules for single witness and child witnesses – Suggestibility and contradictions in child evidence – Self-corroboration and weight of medical evidence – Burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
|
Act
2|
Human Rights
·
Peace and Security
|