Crim. Rev. 2-D-72; 14/1/72
Biron J.
The accuseds were convicted of
housebreaking and stealing and committed to Malindi Approved School for three
years. The proceedings were forwarded to the High Court for examination before
the order was carried into effect. The High Court found (a) that the accuseds,
both juveniles, had not been medically examined as to their ages, nor a finding
made thereon as required by the Children and Young Persons Ordinance s. 16, (b)
before committing them to the Approved School the magistrate had not enquired
from the Manager whether there were vacancies at the School as required by s.24
of the Ordinance and (c) the order for a fixed period was irregular. The
proceedings were accordingly returned to the district court with directions.
HELD:
(1) “The medical reports … disclose that one of the accused is aged about 12
years whilst the other is aged about 14 years. According to the Probation
Officer’s report the two juveniles got into trouble on account of lack of
proper parental control........ Although it would appear from the report that
the accused would benefit from probation, in view of the long lapse of time and
the fact that they would appear to have been in custody, although on remand,
for nearly a year, I am very far from persuaded that the justice of the case
requires any punishment to be meted out, or even any supervisory order to be
made, at this so belated stage.” The order committing the accused to the
Approved School was set aside and an absolute discharge substituted.
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