The former transport minister wanted the prosecution to provide all statements of the witnesses it intends to call at trial - whether they are signed statements or drafts.
He did this by seeking permission to refer two related questions of law of public interest to the Court of Appeal: Whether the prosecution has to include in its case the facts and evidence supporting the charges in the form of witness statements, and whether the court can and ought to order the prosecution to do so.to obtain all the prosecution witness statements before his case goes to trial.
Senior Counsel Davinder Singh and his team, however, argued that it means the prosecution must provide all forms of statements of the witnesses the prosecution intends to call, including"draft statements".The appeal was heard on Tuesday morning in a packed courtroom before Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Justices Woo Bih Li and Steven Chong.
He told Mr Singh that his suggested reading of Section 214 meant that the prosecution must provide statements of witnesses that they intend to use for the trial at the point they file the case for the prosecution, as well as any statements that may come to form the case at any subsequent stage. He continued:"And to be honest with you, Mr Singh, if I can cut to the chase, I think the contentions you are putting forward on the interpretation of Section 214, I'm struggling to see how we can sustain those contentions within the language of 214."
He said his client effectively has fewer rights now compared with the previous provisions governing committal hearings, as he has less access to the prosecution's evidence under the criminal disclosure regime.
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