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Mr President, I would like to now go on and say something about two technical amendments that I will be moving in Committee Stage in relation to the Evidence (Amendment) Bill. Under the proposed new Section 4, all child witnesses will give evidence unsworn. This removes the requirement that the Court needs to determine whether the child can give sworn or unswom evidence. Like an adult, if a child is shown to be incapable of giving intelligible testimony, the Court will simply attach no weight to his or her evidence. Since this lies within the Court's inherent powers, we have agreed with the Bar Association that the proposed new subsection (4) is redundant. I will propose an amendment to delete this subsection at the Committee Stage.
The proposed new Section 4A seeks to abolish the corroboration rule in respect of evidence given by a child. The reason for this change is that child and adult witnesses should not be treated differently in their evidence simply because of their ages. However, there are offences where corroboration will still be required even in the case of adult witnesses, such as perjury. In these cases, the evidence of a child will continue to require corroboration as it is the case for an adult. Section 4A as presently drawn does not make this clear. I will therefore move an appropriate amendment at the Committee Stage to clarify the point.
Mr President, the changes proposed in the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill and the Evidence (Amendment) Bill will enhance the proper administration of justice in cases involving child witnesses and I commend both Bills to Members.
End/Wednesday, July 19, 1995
Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 1995: committee stage
Following is the speech by the Attorney General, the Hon Jeremy Mathews, in the committee stage amendments to the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 1995 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Mr Chairman,
I move that Clause 3 of the Bill be amended as set out under my name in the paper circulated to Members.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.