Homicide related offences cont

Question 1

Explain Section 179 - Aiding and abetting suicide

Answer 1

14 years

a) incites, counsels or procures any person to commit suicide, if that person commits or attempts to commit suicide

b) aids or abets any person in the commission of suicide

Question 2

Explain Section 180 - Suicide pact

Answer 2

1) Anyone who in pursuance of a suicide pact kills another person is guilty of manslaughter not murder

2) 2 or more persons enter a suicide pact and someone kills themselves any survivor is guilty of being a party to a death under a suicide pact

Question 3

What is a suicide pact? Section 180 (3):

Answer 3

A suicide pact means a common agreement between 2 or more persons having for its object the death of all of them, whether or not each is to take his own life.

Question 4

Example of aiding a abetting suicide (Section 179):

Answer 4

A person giving a tetraplegic an overdose of sleeping pills

Section 179 makes it an offence when Person A assists Person B to commit suicide when Person A had no intention of committing suicide themselves.

Question 5

Example of a suicide pact - Section 180(1):

Answer 5

Person A and Person B enter a suicide pact. Person a shoots Person B, killing Person B, before shooting themselves but Person A survives.

Section 180(1) makes it an offence to enter a suicide pact, and only 1 person dies as a result of an action by another person.

Question 6

What is the requirement for a charge under Section 181 - Concealing a child’s body?

Answer 6

Disposal must be done with the intent of concealing the fact of birth may be satisfied even though the birth was known to some people.

It will be enough that the intent was to conceal the birth from a particular individual.

Question 6

Explain Section 181 - Concealing a child’s body:

Answer 6

Disposes of the dead body of any child in any matter with intent to conceal the fact of it’s birth, whether the child dies before, during or after birth.

2 years imprisonment.

Question 7

Explain the general admissibility of hearsay statements:

Answer 7

A hearsay statement is admissible in any proceeding if:

a) the circumstances relating to the statement provide reasonable assurance that the statement is reliable and

b) either
i) the maker of the statement is unavailable as a witness or
ii) the Judge considers that undue expense or delay would be caused if the maker of the statement were required to be a witness

Question 8

Circumstances under Section 16(1) of the Evidence Act:

Answer 8

• The nature of the statement
• The contents of the statement
• The circumstances relating to the making of the statement
• Circumstances relating to the veracity of the person making the statement
• Circumstances relating to the accuracy of the observation of the person