Balan Subramaniam a/l Ponnudurai v Public Prosecutor [2014]

In Balan Subramaniam a/l Ponnudurai v Public Prosecutor, the appellant was tried for setting fire to his home, causing the deaths of his wife and daughter and seriously injuring another child. Before her death, the wife gave an oral statement naming him as the perpetrator, while the daughter provided a written declaration to police with the same accusation. The trial court admitted the wife’s statement but questioned the daughter’s, citing a lack of medical evidence on her capacity at the time. On appeal, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, holding that both declarations were admissible under section 32(1)(a) of the Evidence Act 1950. The Court emphasized that the statutory rule on dying declarations in Malaysia sets a lower threshold than the common law and that concerns about capacity and reliability are matters for weight, not admissibility, when supported by medical and circumstantial evidence. Testimony from neighbors and the sequence of surrounding events reinforced the declarations. The Court also noted that circumstantial evidence, if coherent and consistent, can sustain a murder conviction. This case is significant because it confirmed that dying declarations in Malaysia are broadly admissible and can provide a sufficient basis for conviction when viewed in the context of corroborating facts.