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Citation
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Judgment date
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| April 2005 |
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Court finds no valid land sale agreement; plaintiff declared a trespasser, must pay damages for wrongful occupation.
Property law – Sale of land – Validity of agreement – Misrepresentation and trespass – Damages for unlawful occupation.
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29 April 2005 |
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Civil Procedure
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27 April 2005 |
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Court rejected preliminary objections to affidavits and ordered the substantive hearing to proceed, subject to payment of outstanding fees.
* Civil procedure – preliminary objections – striking out affidavits for alleged falsehoods – not appropriate without substantive hearing
* Affidavits – capacity of deponent – no general bar where no special procedure or representative capacity is required
* Civil procedure – supplementary affidavits filed without leave – not automatically struck out
* Court fees – partial payment – registry may require balance, does not automatically invalidate proceedings
* Locus/causa – absence of applicant’s name on annexed document – merits to be determined at hearing
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27 April 2005 |
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An affidavit omitting the jurat place breaches s6 Oaths Act and renders the application incompetent.
Oaths Act (Cap 19) s6 – jurat must state place and date; Commissioner for Oaths' stamp is not a substitute for place; Interpretation Act s43 and procedural form exceptions do not cure substantive jurat omissions; affidavit defect renders application incompetent.
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27 April 2005 |
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Plaintiff voluntarily handed over vehicle as loan security and failed to prove wrongful seizure or causation for alleged damage.
* Contract/security – sale agreement and delivery of log book as security for loan – entitlement to retain/seize vehicle while debt outstanding.
* Property seizure – voluntariness of delivery versus forceful seizure; absence of evidence of forcible taking.
* Evidence – burden to prove condition prior to loss and causation; reliance on Evidence Act ss.101–103.
* Damages – requirement to prove causation and pre-loss condition before award of repair or market value.
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27 April 2005 |
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Whether Local Governments Act required Election Petition Rules for appeals; court held Civil Procedure Act governs and appeal was timely.
Local Governments Act 1997 s.172 – absence of appeal procedure; Election (Petition) Rules – applicability to appeals; Civil Procedure Act s.79 – governing appeals and time computation; competency and timeliness of election-petition appeals.
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27 April 2005 |
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Extension of time to appeal granted; delay blamed on prior counsel, not the applicant.
Extension of time – "sufficient cause" test – Applicant’s vigilance – Delay attributable to previous counsel’s procedural failings (uncommissioned affidavit) – Shanti v Handocha applied.
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27 April 2005 |
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The applicant failed to prove intercourse or the respondent’s participation; respondent acquitted.
* Criminal law – Defilement – elements: age, sexual intercourse, participation; * Evidence – child of tender years requires corroboration before conviction; * Medical evidence – intact hymen and timing of injuries relevant to corroboration; * Burden of proof – prosecution must prove all ingredients beyond reasonable doubt.
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25 April 2005 |
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Criminal law
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25 April 2005 |
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Criminal law
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25 April 2005 |
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Whether a respondent may rely on registered title after occupying property in breach of an interim injunction.
Civil procedure – Temporary injunction to preserve status quo – Prima facie case, irreparable injury and balance of convenience – Occupation in breach of interim injunction – Registration and bona fide purchaser defence limited where occupation follows violation of court order – Equitable doctrine: clean hands.
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22 April 2005 |
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Fatal shot from accused’s firearm unlawful but without proven intent; convicted of manslaughter and released time‑served.
Criminal law – Murder versus manslaughter – Elements of murder (death, unlawfulness, malice aforethought, participation) – Onus to rebut presumption of unlawfulness – Accidental/ negligent discharge of firearm – Evidence required to prove malice aforethought – Sentence: time served for first offender.
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22 April 2005 |
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Prosecution proved death and malice but failed to prove the accuseds’ participation due to unreliable identification and weak linkage to the weapon.
* Criminal law – Murder – elements required: death, unlawful killing, malice aforethought, participation proven beyond reasonable doubt. * Identification evidence – caution where poor lighting and long distances; need for corroborative evidence. * Forensic/chain of custody – recovery of weapon requires satisfactory linkage to accused and scene. * Alibi – prosecution obliged to disprove alibi by placing accused at scene.
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21 April 2005 |
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Criminal law
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12 April 2005 |
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Victim’s age proved but penetration not corroborated; acquittal for defilement and conviction for indecent assault, sentence five years.
* Criminal law – defilement – ingredients: victim’s age, sexual intercourse (penetration), and accused’s participation – requirement of corroboration of a child’s evidence in material particulars when alleging penetration. * Criminal law – where prosecution fails to prove penetration, conviction may follow for a lesser sexual offence such as indecent assault. * Evidence – alibi – prosecution must disprove alibi by placing accused at scene.
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12 April 2005 |
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Lack of corroborative evidence of penetration led to acquittal for defilement but conviction for indecent assault.
Criminal law – Defilement (s.129 Penal Code) – elements: age, penetration, and identity – requirement for corroboration of child’s evidence on material particulars – absence of medical/birth-certificate evidence – alibi: prosecution’s duty to disprove – conviction on lesser charge of indecent assault (s.128(1)).
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12 April 2005 |
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Acquittal where prosecution proved death and malice but failed to prove accused’s participation due to unreliable identification and unrefuted alibi.
Criminal law – Murder – Ingredients (death, unlawful act, malice aforethought, participation) – Identification evidence – single-witness cautions – alibi – burden on prosecution to disprove alibi – inference of malice from surrounding circumstances.
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11 April 2005 |
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Malice and death proved, but insufficient circumstantial evidence of accused’s participation — accused acquitted.
Criminal law – Murder – Elements: death, unlawful act, malice aforethought, participation – Circumstantial evidence – Requirement that inculpatory facts be incompatible with innocence – Insufficient circumstantial proof requires acquittal.
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11 April 2005 |
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Whether circumstantial evidence proved the accused’s participation in a medically established murder.
Criminal law – Murder: elements to be proved (death, unlawful act, malice aforethought, participation); Circumstantial evidence – must be inconsistent with innocence before inferring guilt; Evidence – weight of unsupported or inconsistent testimony; Flight – not necessarily probative of guilt where innocent explanations exist.
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11 April 2005 |
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6 April 2005 |
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Identification and evidence established attempted murder; alibi rejected and life sentence upheld.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – need for caution but conviction may stand where witnesses who knew accused identify under satisfactory conditions; * Criminal law – Attempted murder – requirement of overt act and intention to cause death satisfied where corrosive liquid thrown causing injurious effects; * Evidence – defects in handling/chain of custody and medical witness discrepancies may be unsatisfactory but not necessarily fatal to prosecution case; * Defence – alibi may be rejected as fabricated where prosecution places accused at scene; * Sentencing – life imprisonment for attempted murder discretionary and may be upheld for particularly grave acts.
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4 April 2005 |
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Identification and intent for attempted murder established; alibi rejected and life sentence upheld.
* Criminal law – Identification evidence – reliability where witnesses knew accused previously, adequate light and proximity; special caution but conviction possible if quality good.
* Criminal law – Attempted murder – requirement of overt act plus intention to cause death; corrosive substance thrown constituted sufficient evidence of intent.
* Evidence – Exhibits/chain of custody – improper packing and marking criticized but not fatal where substance identity and effects established.
* Defence – Alibi – accused does not bear burden to prove; prosecution may disprove by placing accused at scene.
* Sentencing – Life imprisonment for attempted murder is discretionary; appellate court will not interfere absent exceptional circumstances.
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4 April 2005 |