(CRIMINAL REVISION)

SUDAN GOVERNMENT v. ABDALLA IMAD IDDRIS

AC-CR-REV-250-1966

Principles

·  Criminal Law—Counterfeit of coin or note—Penal Code, s. 199—Knowledge of counterfeit at the rime of using the coin or note must be proved by the prosecutor

According to Penal Code, S. 199, the prosecutor must prove that the accused has knowledge of counterfeit of coin or note at the time he uses it

Judgment

Salah E. Hassan J. (By authority of the Chief Justice), September 20, 1966: —The fact that the ten pound paper note is counterfeit seems to me to have been notoriously clear on the face of it because the trial magis trate did not bother himself in arguing this point or hearing any evidence in respect thereof.

In the prosecution under Sudan Penal Code, s. 199, the prosecution has to prove that the accused knew at the time when he received the coin and note, that it was counterfeit or that an offence under Sudan Penal Code, s. 598, has been committed in respect of it. Knowledge to estab lish liability under this section may be proved by the fact that, at the time of committing the alleged offence, the offender was in possession of other spurious notes. This of course did not happen in our present case. Again knowledge can also be presumed from the fact that the accused passed other spurious notes, whether of the same denominatidn or not and whether before or after the incident with which he is charged. In our present case the accused passed two counterfeit pounds to P.W.6 the previous night. This P.W.6 without hesitation recognised accused’s voice and seems to be very sure of it and the court below rightly believed her. This incident in addition to the fact that the ten pound note is manifestly clearly counterfeit relieve the prosecution of its burden in proving knowledge on the part of accused.

It has also been proved that accused tendered this counterfeit pound note to the Bar S Salesman in payment of goods he had bought from the Barman. No doubt accused acted fraudulently.

In the &cumstances the offence is complete and I therefore confirm the findings and sentence and accused should be notified t’at he is lucky to escape with only two years, such an offence being a very serious one.