Law Reform (Eradication of Illicit Samsu) Act 1976 · Updated to 1 Jan 2006 · Part IV · Evidentiary and Trial Provisions
19. Statement to be admissible in evidence
Feedback & supportWhere any person is charged with any offence against this
Act any statement, whether the statement amounts to a confession or not or is oral or in writing, made at any time, whether before or after the person is charged and whether in the course of a police investigation or not and whether or not wholly or partly in answer to questions, by the person to or in the hearing of any senior officer and whether or not interpreted to him by any proper officer or any other person concerned, or not, in the arrest shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any written law to the contrary, be admissible at his trial in evidence and, if the person tenders himself as a witness, any such statement may be used in cross-examination and for the purpose of impeaching his credit:
senior officer
“senior officer” means— (a) any police officer of the rank of Inspector and above; or (b) any senior officer of customs so defined in subsection 2(1) of the Customs Act 1967;
Provided that—
no such statement shall be admissible or used as aforesaid—
if the making of the statement appears to the court to have been caused by any inducement, threat or promise having reference to the charge against such person, proceeding from a person in authority and sufficient in the opinion of the court to give the person grounds which would appear to him reasonable for supposing that by making it he would gain any advantage or avoid any evil of a temporal nature in reference to the proceeding against him; or
in the case of a statement made by the person after his arrest, unless the court is satisfied that he was cautioned in the following words or words to the like effect:
“It is my duty to warn you that you are not obliged to say anything or to answer any question, but anything you say, whether in answer to a question or not, may be given in evidence.”; and
a statement made by any person before there is time to caution him shall not be rendered inadmissible in evidence merely by reason of his not having been cautioned if he is cautioned as soon as possible.
Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law to the contrary, a person accused of an offence to which subsection (1)
applies shall not be bound to answer any question relating to the case after he has been cautioned.
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