JUDGMENTS
Civil Suit No 39 of 2021
[Civil Procedure – appeal against two registrar’s decision – (i) granting leave to amendment defence and counterclaim, including joinder of third party – (ii) direction that expert evidence proceed via single joint expert – plaintiffs opposed amendments as late, inconsistent with earlier pleadings, introducing new causes of action, prejudicial, and potentially time-barred – defendants argued amendments were necessary to ventilate real issues, supported by equitable and limitation exceptions, and permissible under O.20 r.5 SCR – registrar found no irremediable prejudice and allowed amendments – plaintiffs also challenged joint expert order, contending right to own expert and simultaneous exchange of reports – defendants supported registrar’s discretion under O.40 r.2(1) SCR for efficiency and proportionality – court held registrar acted within powers in both decisions – appeals dismissed and registrar’s orders affirmed.]
Decision date: 18 Aug 2025
Originating Motion No. 2 of 2025
[Application for leave to appeal – Bankruptcy – Proof of debt – Whether debt to 2nd Respondent had been satisfied – Sale of property by Official Receiver – No challenge to debt owed to 1st Respondent – Appeal filed out of time – Section 98 Bankruptcy Act (Cap. 67) – No arguable ground of appeal – Leave refused.]
Decision date: 18 Aug 2025
Originating Motion No 8 of 2024
[ Remittance Licensing – Sections 9 and 10 of the Money-Changing and Remittance Business Act Cap. 174 – Whether letter issued by BDCB constituted revocation of licence – Applicant relied on verbal assurance of renewal – BDCB issued retrospective, time limited licence under section 9 – Whether right of appeal under section 10(4) arose – Absence of revocation – Jurisdiction of Court – Application dismissed for want of jurisdiction.]
Decision date: 12 Aug 2025
Criminal Trial No. 3 of 2025
[Section 380A PC- Theft from a building used as a place of worship- Section 378 PC-
Definition of theft- Section 22 PC- Definition of movable property- Section 23 –
“Wrongful gain and “wrongful loss”- Section 24 PC- Dishonestly- Pleaded not guilty-
Convicted after trial]
Decision date: 9 Aug 2025
Criminal Appeal No. 7 of 2025
[Criminal Law – Appeal against sentence imposed under section 146(1)(d) of the Excise Order 2006 – Extension of grace period – second offender – Appeal dismissed]
USAINI BIN MORNI v Public Prosecutor
HACM/7/2025
Decision date: 2 Aug 2025
Criminal Trial No. 6 of 2025
[Criminal Law – Penal Code Cap 22 – Section 376(2)(c) – 2 Charges – Pleaded Guilty – Step Daughter – Position of Trust – Young Victim – 2 Different Time Period of Commission of Offence – Protection of Young and Children – Deterrence – Consecutive Sentence]
Decision date: 2 Aug 2025
Civil Suit No. 30 of 2023
[Freezing order – Mareva injunction – Breach – Substitution of assets without leave – Committal proceedings – Disclosure obligations – Orders against solicitors]
Decision date: 16 July 2025
Criminal Trial No. 6 of 2022
[Criminal Law – Sentencing – S.376(2) Penal Code – rape by a person in position
or authority – S.354B Penal Code – outraging modesty whilst in a position of trust]
Public Prosecutor v DDF Bin HD
HCCT/6/2022
Decision date: 16 Jul 2025
Civil Appeal No. 3 of 2024
[Civil Law- Appeal allowed: Judge’s dismissal of A.’s claim for loss and damages for wrongful termination of contract of employment set aside. A.’s claim for B$180,000 allowed.
Costs: R. to pay A.’s costs below and on appeal, to be taxed if not agreed.
A. employed on five-year fixed term contract: no express termination clause; incomplete/missing text. R’s letter to A. of termination of employment asserted A. redundant. Now, R asked Court to imply term in contract of right to termination of employment without cause on notice/payment in lieu.
Implying term in contract as a matter of fact: test is ‘necessity’; reasonableness is a necessary requirement, but not of itself sufficient to imply a term.
Judge erred in relying on s. 92(f) of Evidence Act, Cap.108; written contract not required for contract of employment. Judge erred: in considering terms in contracts of employment of two other employees; finding them to have ‘standard and uniform’ terms; and implying the termination clause there provided into A.’s contracts of employment.
Those contracts were different from each other and were not standard and uniform terms. No evidence A. had any knowledge of any of those terms. Term implied by judge, that Respondent had right to terminate Appellant’s employment without cause, not justified in law and failed to meet ‘necessity’ test of implication of terms in fact]
Decision date: 14 Jul 2025
Civil Appeal No. 2 of 2025
- Default judgment regularly obtained – Allowing appeal from Registrar, Judge set default judgment aside; O. 13, r.8
- Test in law in Brunei for setting aside default judgment regularly obtained – without fettering Judge’s wide discretion and save very exceptionally, a default judgment regularly obtained will not be set aside unless the
defendant demonstrates a defence with a ‘real prospect of success’ – there is no point otherwise in setting aside the default judgment - Test derived from application of English and Brunei authorities – Application of Laws Act (Cap. 2) considered
- Judge mis-stated test but any error of law on the part of the Judge was neither material nor, still less, crucial
- Judge erred in fact in determining that: there was a triable issue; Appellant bore burden of proving existence of Sub-Contract between parties; Appellant was required to do so at trial. The Appellant having adduced the Sub-Contract in evidence, and the Judge having rejected the allegation of forgery, there was nothing to impugn its existence.
- Court of Appeal entitled to intervene
- Appeal allowed – default judgment restored]
Decision date: 14 Jul 2025
Civil Appeal No. 7 of 2024
[Civil Law A.’s appeal dismissed. Appeal against J.’s finding of contributory negligence and assessment of 30% liability; failure to award damages for Future Loss of Earnings, Loss of ability to carry out DIY, Loss of salary-2018 to 2023; quantum of damages for Loss of Earning Capacity too low
Held: Appellate Court does not interfere with judge’s findings of facts, unless judge is wrong in principle, having heard all the witnesses, has misapprehended the facts or is otherwise plainly wrong.
Contributory negligence: 2nd R. conducted safety briefings- warning to stay 3-5 from operating excavator; in standing 1 m. from operating excavator A. in dangerous position- careless. J.’s assessment of 30% liability not plainly wrong.
Loss of Future Earnings; in choosing to resign from R.’s employment, leaving Brunei to return to Indonesia, two years after returning to work on full salary performing ‘light duties’, A. chose ‘risk of unemployment’, which occurred: A. did not mitigate his loss. J entitled to dismiss his claim. Loss of ability to carry out DIY- J. entitled to find no evidence to support claim.
Loss of salary, overtime and benefits- September 2018-2023: J entitled to reject claim on basis of A’s choice to resign from R’s employment, leave Brunei and return to Indonesia with associated ‘risk of unemployment’.
Loss of Earning Capacity-quantum: J.’s award of B$40,000 was amount sought by A. at trial. J. not plainly wrong.
Costs: parties directed to file written submissions.]
Criminal Appeal No. 25 of 2024
[Criminal Case – Section 354 of Penal Code – Convicted – Sentence – Prosecution’s Appeal against Sentence – Allowed – Sentence Enhanced]
Public Prosecutor v PENGIRAN YUNOS PENGIRAN DAMIT
HACM/25/2024
Decision date: 9 Jul 2025
Civil Suit No. 28 of 2022
[Civil Case – Application For Leave to Appeal to Court of Appeal – No Exceptional Circumstances or Valid Ground – Application Dismissed]
Decision date: 9 Jul 2025
Civil Suit No. 1 of 2024
[Further and better particulars – amendment to quantum claimed – whether particulars of sums now claimed should be ordered – principles to be applied
Rejoinder – now rarely granted leave – circumstances in which appropriate – whether court can order without an application]
Decision date: 23 June 2025
Criminal Motion No. 26 of 2024
[Criminal law – Rape – s. 376(2)(b), Penal Code, Cap. 22. Single charge.
Victim under the age of 14 – Sentence – Judge erred in taking the maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment as starting point and discounting sentence for plea of guilty by only one sixth, on basis evidence was ‘overwhelming’ and imposing a sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment, with 20 strokes. Sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment quashed.
Appropriate starting point -20 years’ imprisonment. Discount for early plea of guilty: Judge’s assessment evidence was ‘overwhelming’ irrelevant to discount. Appellant entitled to full one-third discount.
Sentence of 13 years 4 months’ imprisonment imposed on Appellant. ]
Decision date: 18 June 2025
Criminal Motion No 20 of 2024
[Criminal law – Theft in a protected place – Sentence]
Decision date: 18 June 2025
Criminal Appeal No. 6 of 2024
[Criminal law – Robbery – Sentence]
Decision date: 18 June 2025
Criminal Appeal No. 7 of 2024
[Criminal Law – THeft in a protected place – Sentence]
Decision date: 18 Jun 2025
Criminal Motion No. 18 of 2024
[Criminal law – Housebreaking with intent to commit theft – Custodial sentence to be backdated to date of initial remand]
Decision date: 17 June 2025
Criminal Motion No. 7 of 2024
[Criminal law – Rape of 14 years -old-girl – Multiple offences – Sentence]
Decision date: 17 June 2025
Criminal Appeal No. 12 of 2024
[Criminal law – Unlawful Canal Knowledge – Kidnapping – Sentence ]
Decision date: 17 June 2025
Criminal Appeal No. 9 of 2024
[Criminal law – Mischief by fire with intent to cause damage to property – Sentence. ]
Decision date: 17 June 2025
Criminal Motion No. 2 of 2024
[Criminal law – Cheating – Forgery – Sentence]
Decision date: 16 June 2025
Criminal Motion No. 1 of 2024
[Criminal law – Housebreaking – House-trespass – Theft in a building – Sentence]
Decision date: 16 June 2025
Criminal Motion No. 15 of 2024
[Criminal law – Criminal breach of trust by a public servant – Sentence]
Decision date: 16 June 2025
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