The use of similar fact in criminal proceedings: An updated framework

• Main Author: CHEN, Siyuan
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2020
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Criminal Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3252; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/5215/viewcontent/6840__2020__SAL_Prac_25_The_Use_of_Similar_Fact_in_Criminal_Proceedings_An_Updated_Framework__Published_on_11_December_2020___1_.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

When confronted with the question of whether to admit similiar fact for criminal cases, courts in Singapore are often faced with balancing potentially competing norms in the form of evidential expediency and fairness to the accused. Specifically, although similiar fact may help establish the ingredients of an offence, there existis a real risk that any resulting conviction of the accused and this potential weakness in inferential reasoning through indirect proof will - to use the word in its broadest sense - predjudice the accused.