Denys Roberts CJ:

Preliminary

Hj. Bidin bin Hj. Md. Noor ("the defendant") who was represented by Mr.Yusof at his trial, pleaded not guilty to the following five charges of rape, on which he was committed for trial before the High Court. The true name of Miss X was contained in each of the charges, and referred to in the evidence.

Ist Charge

That you in the month of July 1993 at the storeroom of Sekolah Rendah Kampong Menengah, Tutong, Brunei Darussalam committed rape on Miss X (F12 years 8 months) and thereby have committed an offence punishable under s.376 of the Penal Code.

2nd Charge

That you in the month of August 1993 at the storeroom of Sekolah Rendah Kampong Menengah, Tutong, Brunei Darussalam committed rape on Miss X (F12 years 9 months) and thereby have committed an offence punishable under s.376 of the Penal Code.

3rd Charge

That you in the month of September 1993 at the storeroom of Sekolah Rendah Kampong Menengah, Tutong, Brunei Darussalam committed rape on Miss X (F12 years 10 months) and thereby have committed an offence punishable under s.376 of the Penal Code.

4th Charge

That you in the month of October 1993 at the storeroom of Sekolah Rendah Kampong Menengah, Tutong, Brunei Darussalam committed rape on Miss X (F12 years 11 months) and thereby have committed an offence punishable under s.376 of the Penal Code.

5th Charge

That you in the month of November 1993 at the storeroom of Sekolah Rendah Kampong Menengah, Tutong, Brunei Darussalam committed rape on Miss X (F 13 years) and thereby have committed an offence punishable under s.376 of the Penal Code.

The Law

I remind myself that, in a criminal prosecution, the burden lies on the prosecution to establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, every element of any charge which is brought. This burden lies on the prosecution throughout and does not change.

The charge is of rape. The offence of rape is defined in s.375 of the Penal Code ("PC") as being committed when a man has sexual intercourse with a woman in one of the five circumstances which are set out in the section. These include sexual intercourse with a woman:

(a) against her will;

(b) without her consent;

(c) with her consent when this was obtained by putting her in fear of death or of hurt;

(d) ...; or

(e) with or without her consent, when she is under 14 years of age.

Section 375 PC, according to the first explanation which is attached to that section, states that it is sufficient to constitute rape if there has been some penetration of the woman by the male organ, whether or not this is followed by an ejaculation inside or outside the woman. The fact of ejaculation is not conclusive. It may be absent in the case of a rape, or present when rape is not committed.

Age of the Complainant ('Miss X')

If the girl is under 14 at the time of the offence, a man who has sexual intercourse ("SI") with her is guilty of rape, whether or not she consents - see Syed Abu Tahir v. Public Prosecutor [1988] 3 MLJ 485. However, the punishment is different, according to whether or not she did consent.

I have no doubt, and I find this as a fact, that Miss X, was born on 25 November 1980. Her evidence and that of her father were to this effect. Her father produced her identity card showing this date. Miss X's date of birth was not challenged by the defendant.

Miss X was therefore about 12.7 to 13.0 years old at the time of the offences alleged against the defendant.

Corroboration

On a charge of rape, corroboration of the evidence of the complainant is looked for, and I have to direct myself in the manner prescribed by Deputy Public Prosecutor v. Kilbourne [1973] AC 729. Having warned myself that it is dangerous to act on the evidence of the complainant alone, I may nevertheless do so, if I am satisfied that her evidence is so credible that I am sure of the guilt of the defendant and am prepared to act on her testimony alone-see also Chiu Nam Hong v. Public Prosecutor [1966] 31 MLJ 40.

Complaints which have been made by a v