Singapore legislation

Clause 4

Repeal and re-enactment of section 54

Section 54 of the Evidence Act is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —“Admissibility of evidence and questions about accused’s disposition or reputation54.—

(1)

In any criminal proceedings the accused may —

(a)

personally or by his advocate ask questions of any witness with a view to establishing directly or by implication that he is generally or in a particular respect a person of good disposition or reputation; or

(b)

himself give evidence tending to establish directly or by implication that he is generally or in a particular respect such a person; or

(c)

call a witness to give any such evidence,but where any of these things has been done, the prosecution may call, and any person jointly charged with the accused may call or himself give, evidence to establish, that the accused is a person of bad disposition or reputation, and the prosecution or any person so charged may in cross-examining any witness (including, where he gives evidence, the accused) ask him questions with a view to establishing that fact.(2) Where by virtue of this section a party is entitled to call evidence to establish that the accused is a person of bad disposition or reputation, that party may call evidence of his previous convictions, if any, whether or not that party calls any other evidence for that purpose; and where by virtue of this section a party is entitled in cross-examining the accused to ask him questions with a view to establishing that he is such a person, subsection (4) of section 120 shall not apply in relation to his cross-examination by that party.”.

Read in full context — Evidence (Amendment) Bill →