Facts
The appellant is this case appealed against conviction the murder contrary to s 196 of the
Penal Code. He argued that the trial was a nullity as it was conducted without the aid of assessors, that the assessors were not given opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses individually, instead they cross-examined them together and the witnesses answered them together, that the confession from him to the police was involuntary as he was subjected to violence before he made it and that hsi confession was retracted but was nevertheless relied upon by the court without independent evidence to corroborate it.
Held:
(i) In a trial with assessors the Trial Judge should allow each assessor who wishes to cross-examine the witness individually and the answer thereto should be recorded separately;
therefore it was improper and an irregularity not to have done so in this case.
(ii) For a trial in a criminal case to be a nullity it must be shown that theirregularity was such that it prejudiced the accused and therefore occasioned failure of justice, in this case the Trial Judge gave a summing-up of the evidence to the assessors, and took into account as to the guilt or otherwise of the appellant and therefore it cannot be declared a nullity.
(iii) It is always desirable to look for corroboration in support of a retracted confession before acting on it but a court may convict on retracted confession even without corroboration.
Case Information
A Appeal dismissed.
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