Recent Judicial Decisions
| Author | W. H. D. Winder |
| Published date | 01 May 1967 |
| Date | 01 May 1967 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X6704000513 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
W.
H.
D.
WINDER,
M.A.,
'LL.M.
Legal Correspondent of The Police Journal
SHOWING
THAT
CONFESSIONS
ARE
VOLUNTARY
Chan Wei Keung v. The Queen
In clarifying the law as to how allegations that the police have
improperly obtained a confession should be treated in court this
decision has removed a possible obstacle to a successful prosecu-
tion ( [1967] 2 W.L.R.552).
The
Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council's ruling on appeal from the Supreme Court of Hong Kong
is just as applicable to the United Kingdom in the substance of
what it lays down as to that territory. A conviction of murder
was upheld in the following circumstances in which the case for
the prosecution rested wholly or mainly on a confession by the
accused appellant.
The
deceased and the appellant were employed on the same
premises, the deceased on the ninth floor and the appellant on the
roof top above it. The deceased was last seen alive at 11.05
p.m. on May 11. His dead body was discovered the next day,
May 12, at 8.30 a.m.
The
appellant left the premises having slept
there on May 11. On May 25 the appellant was questioned at
the police station when he made two written statements confessing
to the murder of the deceased. At his trial the prosecution's case
rested on these two statements and their admissibility was chal-
lenged on the ground that they were not made voluntarily. After
hearing evidence in the absence of the jury the trial Judge ruled
that the statements were made voluntarily and were admissible in
evidence. The voluntary character of the statements was again
challenged in the course of evidence subsequently given in the
presence of the jury.
The
appellant was found guilty and sen-
tenced to death. His appeal was dismissed.
The
trial Judge had
quite correctly given a general direction to the jury that they must
be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of the guilt of the appel-
lant and that, if they had any doubt about the confessions, they
must acquit, and that it was for them to give such weight and
value to the confessions as they thought proper. This was held to
be a sufficient direction.
238
May
1967
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