Pillay v The State

The appellant, a 30-year-old metro police officer, was a tenant at the complainant’s family home. He was charged with indecent assault of the complainant, a minor, allegedly committed over several occasions between June 2006 and May 2007. The complainant alleged multiple incidents involving inappropriate sexual conduct, including forcing her to touch his penis and showing her a photograph of a penis on his cellphone. She only reported the allegations in June 2007 after confiding in a friend. The appellant denied the allegations, contending they were fabricated due to a financial dispute with the complainant’s father. The regional court convicted the appellant based solely on the complainant’s evidence, which was that of a single child witness.

The appeal was upheld and both the conviction and sentence were set aside.

The case reinforces the strict application of the cautionary rule in cases involving child witnesses who are also single witnesses. It underscores the duty of trial courts to properly scrutinise such evidence, to address material contradictions, and to apply the correct standard of proof in criminal proceedings.