Kamoo v Bassett Facts: Held: The COJ applies retrospectively to civil injuries and crimes committed before the

tted before the COJ came into force The purpose of the COJ is to protect the native inhabitants from oppression and injustice Verdict for P $150 with cost since the law might not be so generally known since the case happened before the passing of the COJ P (native Bengal) D (Lieutenant-Colonel) P was employed by the D as a table-servant in Penang at a salary of $6 per month Since his employment, he had been severely ill-treated by the D On 20th July 1807, he was whipped 20 times by the Ds order P complained to the Police Magistrate Angered by this, the D sent a sepoy to fetch the P D whipped him again 20 times and subsequently confined him On 13th November 1807, D ordered the Pto be tied up to a stake and had him whipped 100 times for having defamed the D to the Magistrate Not having satisfied with this, the D then placed the P under confinement for two and a half months again Finally, he was dismissed from the Ds service P filed an action for tort claiming damages for $600 D denied liability

In The Goods of Abdullah Facts: According to Muslim law, a Muslim can only devise 1/3 of his property to non-beneficiaries The administration of the property was given to the widow on the supposition that there existed no will at all There was no dispute as to the execution of the paper treated as a will But it was urged o the part of the widow as not being conformable to the rules of the Mohamedan Law The fact that it was not so conformable was admitted The only question was whether for that reason the will ought not to be admitted to probate

Issue: Can a Muslim, who died in Penang, devise his entire property by means of a will? Held: The law of England introduced into the Straits Settlement by the 2nd COJ in 1826 had superseded the previous law

Any local inhabitants who wish to leave their property by will in accordance to their personal laws must expressly indicate their intention that their will is to be constructed by those personal laws In the absence of such express declaration, English law shall apply

R v Willans Facts: R (Police Magistrate) Refused to try a case involving one Chivatean, an agricultural labourer who has frequently absented himself from work

Issue: Whether a statute passed in England in 1824 is applicable to Penang by virtue of the COJ Held: When Penang became a British possession, there were no inhabitants to claim the rights of being governed by any existing law and no tribunals to enforce such laws. As such it is diffult to assert that the law of Kedah applies t the island of Penang after it was occupied by the English administrators For the first 20 years since it was founded, there was no known body of law recognised by the law of the place The 1st COJ 1807 introduced the law of England into Penang The 2nd COJ 1826 introduced the law of England as it existed on that date in Malacca, Penang and Singapore in so far as the conditions and circumstances of the place and persons shall admit

Fatimah & Ors v Logan & Ors Facts: A Muslin died in Penang, leaving behind a will The AG, for the P, contended that the Muslim law must be applied

Issue: What law must be applied in order to determine the validity of the will Held: The propositions that previous to the COJ 1807 Islamic law was in force in Penang and the COJ made no alteration in the law cannot be accepted In 1786 Penang was a desert and uncultivated island, virtually uninhabited and without any fixed institutions Either on the settlement of the island, or if not then, by the COJ 1807, the law of England was introduced into Penang and became the law of the land

Since the lex loci of Penang is English law, then the validity of the will must be determined in accordance with English law Mohamed Noordin was domiciled in Penang at the time of making his will and up to the time of his death, that his capacity to make a will must be decided by the lex loci and not the Mohamedan law

Choa Choon Neoh v Spottiswoode Facts: A Chinese, domiciled in Singapore, died leaving behind a will in which he devised certain properties for the purpose of a religious ceremony known as Sin Chew The deceased left his sons and daughters almost wholly unprovided for

Issue: Whether the devise was valid Held: The law of the land in the straits Settlement is the law of England adapted to the local conditions That law, when applied to the various races here, is subject to necessary modifications to prevent it from operating unjustly and oppressively on them Despite the acceptance of the its religious nature according to Chinese custom, for the purpose of the law in England, which applied to Singapore, the devise did not have a charitable object and therefore void

Ong Cheng Neo v Yeap Cheah Neo & Ors Issue: Whether a devise of two plantations to be reserved as a burial place for the deceased and his family and another devise of a house for the purposes of performing a sow chong were valid gifts for charitable purposes? PC Held: It is immaterial whether Penang was regarded as a ceded or settled territory because there was no trace of any laws having been established there before it was acquired by the EIC In either view, the law of England must be taken to be the law in so far as it is applicable to the circumstances of the place and modified in its application by these circumstances Applying the law of England, the said devises were void as being contrary to the English common law against creating perpetuities

Isaac Penhas v Tan Soo Eng

Issue: Whether a marriage celebrated in Singapore between a Jew and a non-Christian Chinese in a modified form constituted a valid marriage according to the laws of Singapore? Held: The common law of England was in force in Singapore in 1937 except where it was necessary to modify it to prevent hardship upon the local inhabitants By the terms of the COJ , there were entitled to exercise their respective religious customs and practices Applying the law of England, the marriage was valid