Mohd Ali Bin Burut and Others v Public Prosecutor
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Judgment Date | 28 April 1995 |
| Date | 28 April 1995 |
| Court | Privy Council |
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Privy Council - Brunei - criminal evidence - admissibility - oppressive police conduct
For the police to interview an arrested person while he was manacled and hooded was plainly oppressive conduct calculated to sap the will of the person being interviewed, and written statements, which contained confessions, made by the appellants after being subjected to such treatment should not have been admitted in evidence at their trial.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (Lord Goff of Chieveley, Lord Jauncey of Tullichettle, Lord Mustill, Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead and Lord Steyn) so held on April 25 in allowing an appeal by Mohd Ali Bin Burut, Ak Metassan Bin Pg Metussin and Madtassan Bin Lamat, from the dismissal by the Court of Appeal of Brunei Darussalam of their appeals against their convictions by the High Court of firearms offences under section 28 of the Public Order Act of Brunei.
LORD STEYN said that a so-called "special procedure" was applied to the appellants. It was a standard procedure in Brunei in cases involving suspicion of the commission of firearms offences and involved arrested persons being manacled with their hands behind their backs and hooded during interrogation.
The written statements were not obtained in interviews conducted while the appellants were subjected to the special procedure.
It was applied to the first appellant on December 15, 1990. On December 17 he signed a written statement and eight days later a statement confirming the first statement.
The special procedure was applied to the second appellant on December 15 and he signed detailed statements on December 18 and 26.
It was applied to the third appellant on December 16...
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