SO MING v. THE QUEEN

CACC000728/1977

  

IN THE SUPREME COURT
	Criminal Appeal
	1977 No. 728

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BETWEEN
	SO MING	Appellant
	and
	THE QUEEN	Respondent

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Coram: Trainor, J.

Date of Judgment: 21st July, 1977.

  

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JUDGMENT

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1. The appellant in this case was convicted of defilement of a girl aged between 13 and 16 years. The circumstances as to how the prosecution arose are somewhat as follows. On a morning in the early hours of May a police constable saw a girl sitting on a seat in, I think, a public park, certainly in a public place and the accused lying on that seat with his head on her lap. He suspected that the girl might possibly be a missing person so he brought them both to the police station and there it was ascertained that on an earlier occasion, a matter of some days earlier, the accused had had sexual intercourse with the girl. At the trial the girl gave evidence of the intercourse which, she said, was with her consent. The accused denied that intercourse had ever taken place.

2. The girl who was, if one accepts the evidence that was tendered, approximately two months under the age of 16 and was considered by the learned magistrate to be "a rough type of girl obviously quite unconcerned about the whole matter". He was further of the opinion that it would not have been her only experience of sexual intercourse. Of the defendant he said he was even less prepossessing and he disbelieved his denial of intercourse. It is quite obvious that the learned magistrate did not have a very high regard of the complainant, nevertheless, it was solely on her evidence that the accused was convicted.

3. It is not necessary, I think, for me to dwell on the matter of corroboration in a case such as this. Granted that corroboration is not essential and that an accused may be convicted on the evidence of the complainant alone, nevertheless where the desirability for corroboration has been stressed for so long in the ordinary case how much more is it desirable in a case where the complainant is of the character that the learned magistrate believed her to be. In his Statement of Findings the learned magistrate said that he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty as charged but he made no reference to the desirability of the evidence of the complainant being corroborated. It may well be that he had reminded himself of such desirability but concluded that the evidence against the accused was sufficient for him to find the accused guilty without corroboration. That may well be so but there is nothing whatever to indicate to me that he had in his mind the matter of corroboration. Mr. Reed, Counsel for the Crown has suggested that it would be most unlikely that an experienced magistrate like the magistrate who heard this case would overlook cororboration. That may well be so but when a Court of Appeal has to consider such a case as this it ought be indicated to it that corroboration was present in the trial magistrate's mind and that despite its absence he convicted. In the circumstances I allow this appeal.

  

  

( J.P. TRAINOR J. )

  

Representation:

Appellant in person.

Mr. Reid, C.C. for respondent.