Devandran a/l Appu

Devandran a/l Appu

The Court held the trial judge correctly accepted SP10's identification based on prior long acquaintance and favourable viewing conditions and that the trial judge's credibility findings should stand; although the dying declaration was admitted without proper caution and was held to have been wrongly admitted, its exclusion did not render the conviction unsafe because SP10's eyewitness testimony alone was sufficiently strong to support the convictions; therefore the appeals were dismissed and convictions and sentences affirmed.

Citation
P-05(M)-432-08/2018 & P-05(SH)-436-08/2018 (Mahkamah Rayuan)
Parties
Appellant: Devandran a/l Appu; Respondent: Public Prosecutor
Court
M
Jurisdiction
Malaysia
Judgment Date
28 July 2020
Case Number
P-05(M)-432-08/2018 & P-05(SH)-436-08/2018 (Mahkamah Rayuan)
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment (appeal Against Conviction and Sentence)
Outcome
Appeal dismissed; convictions and sentences affirmed
Legal Topics
Murder (section 302 Penal Code), Attempted Murder (section 307(1) Penal Code), Dying Declaration (section 32 Evidence Act 1950), Identification Evidence, Turnbull Guidelines
Source Language
Malay/English
Criminal Law Evidence Law Procedure Murder (section 302 Penal Code) Attempted Murder (section 307(1) Penal Code) Dying Declaration (section 32 Evidence Act 1950) Identification Evidence Turnbull Guidelines

Case Brief

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Parties

Devandran a/l Appu

Appellant

Public Prosecutor

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment (appeal Against Conviction and Sentence)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether identification evidence of the lone eyewitness (SP10) was reliable
  2. 2 Whether the dying declaration was admissible and if its admission was prejudicial
  3. 3 Whether conviction is safe if dying declaration is excluded

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held the trial judge correctly accepted SP10's identification based on prior long acquaintance and favourable viewing conditions and that the trial judge's credibility findings should stand; although the dying declaration was admitted without proper caution and was held to have been wrongly admitted, its exclusion did not render the conviction unsafe because SP10's eyewitness testimony alone was sufficiently strong to support the convictions; therefore the appeals were dismissed and convictions and sentences affirmed.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed; convictions and sentences affirmed

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed and conviction and sentence for both charges affirmed
  • Sentence upheld: death sentence for murder under Section 302 Penal Code; 10 years imprisonment for attempted murder under Section 307(1) Penal Code