Prem Sivalingham

Years in prison:
6
Year of crime:
1986
Year conviction was overturned:
1994

Sam Kulasingha, amd Prem Sivalingham were convicted of tripple murder following a petrol attack that killed three people. The primary evidence against them was from two witnesses. On appeal, new evidence suggested that police officers used violence against key witnesses and threatened them with deportation. Appeal judges quashed the convictions on the basis of breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, non-disclosure of evidence that could have helped the defence, and witness unreliability. Judges said that they had a distinct sense of unease about the verdicts, and that the convictions could not be regarded as safe or satisfactory.

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  • Offence: Murder
  • Jurisdiction: England & Wales
  • County: Greater London 
  • Ethnicity: Asian
  • Gender: M
  • Years in prison: 6
  • Offence convicted of: Murder
  • Year of crime: 1986
  • Year of initial conviction: 1988
  • Year conviction was overturned: 1994
  • Age when imprisoned: 24
  • CCRC Referral: N
  • Tried with others: Y
  • Link to full case: Not available
  • Type of fresh evidence at appeal: Evidence casting doubt on the integrity of police, evidence relating to the reliability of witness testimony
  • Compensation: Unknown
  • Crown argued case at CofA: Unknown
  • Retrial: Unknown
  • Previous appeals: Unsuccessful appeal in 1992