THE RIGHT OF PRIVATE DEFENCE IN PP V DATO' BALWANT SINGH

Abstract

This note discusses a case that dealt with the issue of private defence in a murder of a motorcyclist by the defendant who claimed that he was assaulted by the deceased prior to a fatal shot causing his death. In the trial, the prosecution has proved a prima facie case against the accused but as illustrated in the Penal Code, the conduct of the accused may well fall under private defence but the court must ensure that the defence exercised fits the description of sections 97, 100 and 102 of the Penal Code. The court needs to determine whether the accused has not exceeded his right to private defence when he shot the deceased who was only armed with a tree branch. This casenote is a descriptive study that analyses the testimony of witnesses and how private defence was then consistently established by the accused. It also highlighted a case where a claim of private defence was denied by a court for the purpose of comparing it with the present case in which the court decided in favour of the accused.