JUDGMENTS
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]
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
Criminal Appeal No. 3 of 2025
[Criminal Law – possession of unexcisable goods – section 146 (1)(d) Excise Order – Appeal Dismissed]
Decision date: 17 Jul 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]
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 Appeal No. 9 of 2025
[Criminal Law – Housebreaking – Theft – Criminal trespass – Extensive antecedents comprising 18 previous convictions, including 11 theft-related offences – Individual sentences within established sentencing range – Offences committed against two separate victims on different occasions – Consecutive sentence appropriate – Neither individual sentences nor aggregate sentence excessive – Guilty plea taken into account by reduction of custodial sentence on 1st charge – Corresponding reduction in sentence of whipping should also have been made – Appeal allowed to limited extent – Sentence of 3 strokes reduced to 2 strokes.]
Decision date: 20 Jun 2026
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
Criminal Appeal No. 14 of 2024
[Criminal law – Taking indecent photographs of a child – Sentence]
Decision date: 16 June 2025
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