Chan v Police

Chan has appealed against the refusal of the Magistrate to reduce the number of demerit points imposed on her. She was convicted of using a mobile phone while driving and applied for a reduction in the number of demerit points under section 98B(4) of the Motor Vehicles Act 1959 (SA). The Magistrate declined to hear any evidence and dismissed the application. The appeal is against this decision, and Chan argues that the Magistrate erred in not hearing her evidence and his dismissal of her application should be set aside and the matter should be remitted to the Magistrates Court to hear and determine her application on the basis of her evidence.

The legal issue before the court was whether the Magistrate erred in not hearing evidence from Chan on the question of whether other proper cause existed to reduce the number of demerit points. The court found that the Magistrate did err in this regard, as he did not have regard to the second limb under section 98B(4) of assessing whether other proper cause existed to reduce the number of demerit points. The court concluded that the Magistrate could only make a conclusion on that question after hearing evidence from Chan concerning the circumstances of the offence.

The court allowed the appeal and set aside the order of the Magistrate refusing the application. The matter was remitted to the Magistrates Court to hear and determine the application on the basis of evidence given on oath. The court found that the Magistrate had erred in not hearing evidence from Chan and that his dismissal of her application should be set aside. The court found that the Magistrate had not considered all the relevant factors in making his decision and that the matter should be reheard by the Magistrates Court.

No further orders were made by the court. The appeal was allowed and the matter was remitted to the Magistrates Court to hear and determine the application on the basis of evidence given on oath. The court did not make any other orders or findings in relation to the appeal.