MICHAEL MARCUS LIEW v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
Catchwords
Practice Areas
Judges (1)
Counsel (15)
Case Significance
Liew Michael Marcus v Public Prosecutor and other appeals [2024] SGHC 4 was decided by the General Division of the High Court in Magistrate's Appeals Nos 9024, 9025, 9026, 9027 and 9028 of 2020, with Vincent Hoong J delivering the grounds of decision on 11 January 2024 after hearings on 19 July and 15 and 23 November 2023. The five appellants were Michael Marcus Liew, Cheo Lye Choon, Tok Meng Chong, Ng Wan Seng and Chan Hui Yi Regina.
The case concerned a series of physical assaults involving multiple perpetrators and multiple victims, where not every perpetrator assaulted every victim. The catchwords identify the charges as relating to unlawful assembly and common object, including offences under s 147 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed). Vincent Hoong J framed the key question as the evidence required before a finding could be made that there was a common object among the perpetrators to voluntarily cause hurt to all the victims. The judgment records that the five appellants and the four victims were at the same bar on the evening of 30 April 2017 and left separately in the early hours of 1 May 2017. The Attorney-General's Chambers acted for the respondent, with Invictus Law Corporation, Lighthouse Law LLC, Quahe Woo & Palmer LLC and Trident Law Corporation among counsel for the appellants.
Summary
In this Magistrate's Appeal before the General Division of the High Court, five appellants who had met at a bar and were each convicted under section 147 of the Penal Code of being members of an unlawful assembly whose common object was to cause hurt to four victims appealed against their convictions and sentences. The key question was the evidence required to find a common object to voluntarily cause hurt to all the victims, where each victim was attacked at a different time and not by all the appellants. The court allowed the appeals against conviction on the rioting charges, set aside those convictions and sentences, framed altered charges on which the appellants were convicted and fined, and dismissed certain appellants' appeals against sentences for a disorderly behaviour charge and an offensive weapon charge as not manifestly excessive.
What was the key question in Liew Michael Marcus v Public Prosecutor [2024] SGHC 4?
Vincent Hoong J identified the key question as what evidence is required before finding a common object among multiple perpetrators to voluntarily cause hurt to all the victims, in a case where not every perpetrator assaulted every victim, engaging s 147 of the Penal Code.
Who were the appellants in the unlawful assembly appeals decided in [2024] SGHC 4?
The five appellants in Magistrate's Appeals Nos 9024 to 9028 of 2020 were Michael Marcus Liew, Cheo Lye Choon, Tok Meng Chong, Ng Wan Seng and Chan Hui Yi Regina, whose appeals were heard together by Vincent Hoong J and decided on 11 January 2024.
What offences were at issue in Liew Michael Marcus v Public Prosecutor?
The catchwords in [2024] SGHC 4 identify offences of unlawful assembly with a common object, including under s 147 of the Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed), arising from a series of assaults by five perpetrators against four victims after an evening at a bar on 30 April 2017.
Statutes Cited
Cases Cited (26)
Referenced in
Statutes interpreted in this judgment
Legal concepts & references
Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.
Read on eLitigationSource: eLitigation ([2024] SGHC 4)