COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

7.30 p.m.

The Minister for Labour and Law (Mr K. M. Byrne): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Mr Speaker, Sir, this Bill is complementary to the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Ordinance, and seeks to provide for the hearing and determination of appeals from convictions by the High Court sitting without a jury.

At present the Court of Criminal Appeal Ordinance only provides for appeals by any person convicted on a trial before the High Court with a jury, under Chapter 21 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The proposed amendments to the Ordinance extends the provisions of the Ordinance to cases where the person has been convicted on a trial before the High Court without a jury. The Bill also amends the Court of Criminal Appeal Ordinance to provide for a reference of points of law to the Court of Criminal Appeal in case of an acquittal by the High Court in the exercise of its original criminal jurisdiction, and for a reference to the Court of Criminal Appeal of an appeal on the grounds of public interest where the High Court has upheld or reversed the decision of the subordinate court. These new provisions are taken from the Federation Courts Ordinance, 1948.

The Bill was referred to and was supported by the Singapore Bar Committee, but since the Bill was published, it has been represented that the proposed new section 19B of the Ordinance might cause hardship to an accused person, as it is possible that he may be acquitted by the subordinate court, have his acquittal confirmed by the High Court, but nevertheless be convicted and sentenced by the Court of Criminal Appeal.

Where a person is acquitted on a trial before the High Court, there is no appeal against the acquittal. It is proposed in clause 5 of the Bill that in such a case there should be a reference to the Court of Criminal Appeal on the question of law. But the Court of Criminal Appeal will in such a case have power to deliver a merely declaratory judgment. A person who is acquitted on a trial by the High Court is therefore no more in jeopardy. On the other hand, the person who is acquitted by a subordinate court might have his acquittal set aside not only by the High Court but also by the Court of Criminal Appeal. It is considered, therefore, that the person who has been acquitted by an order of a subordinate court and of the High Court on appeal should not be liable to punishment by the Court of Criminal Appeal, even though such acquittal is set aside, and I propose to move amendments to this effect in Committee.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.- [Mr Byrne].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

7.35 p.m.

Clauses 1 to 4 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 5-

Mr Byrne: Mr Speaker, Sir, I move.

In page 4, line 6, at end, to add-

"(7) Where the Court of Criminal Appeal acting under the provisions of this section reverses an order of acquittal made by a judge of the High Court, the Court or Criminal Appeal shall nevertheless discharge the person acquitted by the order of the High Court and shall not pass any sentence on him."

I referred to the need for this amendment in my speech earlier.

Amendment agreed to.

The Chairman: There is a consequential amendment. The present sub-clause (7) will be re-numbered (8). There also appears to be a typographical error in page 3 - I may be wrong, perhaps the Minister could direct his attention to it - line 13. Should not the word "involve" be "involved"? There is also the same word in page 2, line 28.

Mr Byrne: There should be a "d".

The Chairman: We will just correct that as a typographical error. "Involve" should now read "involved".

Mr Byrne: That is so.

Clause 5, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

New Clause- 'Amendment of Section 10 of the principal section 10. Ordinance is hereby amended- (a) by deleting the words "a report" appearing in the seventh line and substituting therefor the words "in the case of a trial under Chapter XXI of the Criminal Procedure Code a report"; and (b) by inserting immediately after the word "case" appearing at the end thereof the words "or in the case of a trial under Chapter XXA of the Criminal Procedure Code a copy of his grounds of decision".'.-[Mr Byrne]

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr Byrne: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the clause be read a Second time."

Mr Speaker, Sir, this amendment to section 10 is necessary to require a judge of the High Court to give his grounds of decision where a case is tried without a jury.

Question put, and agreed to.

Clause read a Second time and added to the Bill.

Bill reported with amendments; read the Third time and passed.