Adjournment of inquiry when criminal proceedings commenced
39.—(1) If, before the conclusion of an inquiry by a Coroner, any person is charged with any offence under —
(a)
Chapter XVI of the Penal Code (Cap. 224);
(b)
section 64, 65 or 66 of the Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276); or
(c)
Part IV of the Workplace Safety and Health Act (Cap. 354A),
in relation to an act which caused or could have caused the death which is the subject of the inquiry, the Coroner shall adjourn the inquiry until after the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.
(2) Where a Coroner resumes an inquiry after the conclusion of the criminal proceedings referred to in subsection (1), he shall continue with the inquiry from the stage at which it was adjourned, provided that at the resumed inquiry no finding shall be made which is inconsistent with the result of those criminal proceedings.
(3) If, having regard to the result of the criminal proceedings referred to in subsection (1), there has been a finding in those proceedings as to the cause of and circumstances connected with the death, and the Coroner decides not to resume the inquiry, he shall —
(a)
endorse his record and the certificate required under section 42 accordingly; and
(b)
send to the Public Prosecutor and the Commissioner of Police each a copy of the certificate referred to in section 42.
(4) Where an inquiry is adjourned under subsection (1), it shall be the duty of —
(a)
the District Judge or Magistrate before whom the criminal proceedings referred to in subsection (1) are concluded; or
(b)
the Registrar of the Supreme Court, in the case of any criminal proceedings before the High Court or the Court of Appeal,
to inform the Coroner responsible for holding the inquiry of the result of the criminal proceedings in relation to the subject of the inquiry.
(5) In this section, “criminal proceedings” means the proceedings before —
(a)
a Magistrate at any committal proceeding;
(b)
any court by which a person is tried; or
(c)
any court before which an appeal from the decision of the court referred to in paragraph (b) is heard,
and criminal proceedings shall not be deemed to be concluded until no further appeal can be made in the course of them.
[CPC, s. 280; QLD CA, s. 29; Ontario CA, s. 27; UK CA, s. 16; NZ CA, s. 68; HK Coroners Ord, ss. 33, 35, 36 and 37]