7. Assaults, false imprisonment and sexual offences

Assault and battery

Common assault: Causing another to apprehend immediate unlawful force; battery is the actual application of force.

Section 47: Assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Sections 18 and 20: Section 20 is unlawful and malicious wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm. Section 18 is wounding or causing GBH with intent to do GBH. In Kamara v The State, where a punch cost the victim an eye, the Court of Appeal upheld a conviction under section 18.

False imprisonment

Definition: Unlawfully restraining another's freedom of movement.

Judicial intervention: Where a person merely lays information and a judicial officer independently issues a warrant, the informant does not commit false imprisonment. Thullay v The State applied Austin v Dowling and quashed the conviction.

Rape and sexual offences

Old law: Rape was a common law offence; unlawful carnal knowledge of young girls fell under the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act (Cap. 31). Corroboration was required in practice. In Williams v R a mother's account of her daughter's complaint and medical evidence that did not implicate the accused were not corroboration. George v R confirms corroboration is independent evidence implicating the accused.

Sexual Offences Act 2012: It now governs rape, sexual penetration of a child and related offences. A person under 18 cannot consent. The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2019 raised the maximum for rape and sexual penetration of a child to life imprisonment.

Corroboration today: The courts have held that a conviction may rest on the uncorroborated evidence of a complainant if the court warns itself of the danger and is satisfied the evidence is true.