3
Friday, October 23, 1970
The effect of the previous clause would have been, in some cases,
to force a suspect either to supply information incriminating himself, or
to be convicted of the offence of failing to comply with a notice if he
refused to do so.
Now, where a notice was served on a suspect, he could either
proffer an explanation or refuse to do so "without fear of prosecution
for his refusal."
But if he did refuse, clause 20 of the Bill would enable the
fact of his refusal to be adduced in evidence, since it was pertinent for
the court, in deciding how much weight could properly be attached to an
accused's defence, to consider why it had not been disclosed at an earlier
stage following receipt of a notice under clause 14.
1
1
}
O
14
Page 45Page 46
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P.R.H. 7