12 Oct 2001
The magistrate's adverse comment on the appellant's pre‑caution silence constituted an error of law because it invited disbelieving the defence on the basis of silence; that adverse comment materially influenced the guilty finding, therefore the conviction could not stand, must be quashed, sentence set aside and a retrial ordered in the public interest.
7 Sept 1989
The summing up contained a misdirection because the judge invited the jury to regard the appellant's silence on arrest as indicative of consciousness of guilt; however the misdirection did not produce a miscarriage of justice on the evidence and the court applied the proviso to dismiss the appeal and affirm conviction and sentence.
24 Mar 1983
The trial judge misdirected the jury by inviting adverse inference from the defendants' failure to disclose their defences to police before trial, which exceeded permissible comment; nevertheless, because the circumstantial and forensic evidence against the appellants was strong, the Court applied the proviso to s.83(1) Criminal Procedure Ordinance and refused the applications for leave to appeal, upholding the convictions.