Evidence Act 1893 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 1 · Relevancy of Facts
11. When facts not otherwise relevant become relevant
Feedback & supportFacts not otherwise relevant are relevant —
if they are inconsistent with any fact in issue or relevant fact;
fact in issue
“fact in issue” includes any fact from which either by itself or in connection with other facts the existence, non‑existence, nature or extent of any right, liability or disability asserted or denied in any suit or proceeding necessarily follows;IllustrationA is accused of the murder of B.At A’s trial the following facts may be in issue:(a)that A caused B’s death;(b)that A intended to cause B’s death;(c)that A had received grave and sudden provocation from B;(d)that A at the time of doing the act which caused B’s death was by reason of unsoundness of mind incapable of knowing its nature.
if by themselves or in connection with other facts they make the existence or non-existence of any fact in issue or relevant fact highly probable or improbable.Illustrations (a) The question is whether A committed a crime at Singapore on a certain day. The fact that on that day A was at Penang is relevant. The fact that near the time when the crime was committed A was at a distance from the place where it was committed, which would render it highly improbable, though not impossible, that A committed it, is relevant. (b) The question is whether A committed a crime. The circumstances are such that the crime must have been committed either by A, B, C or D. Every fact which shows that the crime could have been committed by no one else and that it was not committed by either B, C or D is relevant.
fact
“fact” includes —(a)any thing, state of things, or relation of things, capable of being received by the senses; and(b)any mental condition of which any person is conscious;Illustrations(a) That there are certain objects arranged in a certain order in a certain place is a fact.(b) That a man heard or saw something is a fact.(c) That a man said certain words is a fact.(d) That a man holds a certain opinion, has a certain intention, acts in good faith or fraudulently, or uses a particular word in a particular sense, or is or was at a specified time conscious of a particular sensation, is a fact.(e) That a man has a certain reputation is a fact.