- 10
The bill seeks to abolish the rule that unsworn evidence of children required corroboration following the change of practice in England.
The spokesman said that the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 1995 sought to introduce special procedures to avoid the trauma and allay the anxiety that would be experienced by vulnerable witnesses, namely the witness in fear, the child and the mentally handicapped.
"The amendment provisions in the bill will enable vulnerable witnesses to testify through live television link in a room separate from the court- room," he said.
They would also enable a video-recorded interview with a child or a mentally handicapped witness to be produced as evidence-in-chief in the trial provided that the witness was available for cross-examination afterwards, he added.
Other amendments, the spokesman said, would enable a deposition of a child or a mentally handicapped witness, taken before a magistrate, to be produced at the trial as the witness' evidence.
Under the bill, a scheme is also proposed to be set up whereby once the prosecuting authority issued to the magistrate a "notice of transfer", committal proceedings can be dispensed with and the case involving a child or a mentally handicapped witness is committed for trial without further ado.
The spokesman said that the purpose of this procedure was to avoid the trauma that would be experienced by the child witnesses and mentally handicapped witnesses being required to give evidence twice, once at the committal proceedings and again at the trial.
It also had the peripheral benefit of reducing pre-trial delay, he said.
End/Tuesday, March 28, 1995
Mandatory Provident Fund
The proposed Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) System would be operated by the private sector with a sufficient number and variety of schemes to ensure healthy competition and efficient deployment through diverse channels of the huge sums to be
invested.
This was stated by the Secretary for Financial Services, Mr Michael Cartland tonight (Tuesday) at the 15th Anniversary of the Dragon Jaycees.