Plaintiff was a registered trophy dealer. He was suspected of having committed certain offences under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, Cap. 316. A police constable arrested him on the charge of failing to maintain properly the trophy dealer's register and he was kept in the cells for more than twenty - four hours. The plaintiff was later released on furnishing police bond and was never prosecuted, as he was not found having committed any offence. The plaintiff's trophy dealer's licence was subsequently not renewed.
The action was for wrongful arrest, false - imprisonment and consequential loss of his licence.
Held:
(i) That in accordance with the provisions of s. 128 of the Act, the chief ranger was a proper officer to effect the arrest on an offender, but a police officer under the rank of an assistant inspector was not such a proper officer; that since the plaintiff was arrested by a police constable the arrest was unlawful.
(ii) That since under s. 128 (1) of the National Parks and Wildlife Act a person found committing an offence or suspected of committing an offence under the Act could be arrested only if a person refused to give his name and address when demanded by a proper officer, the arrest was not justified when the particulars were known or when the proper officer did not have reasonable grounds for believing that "unless arrested such person will escape or cause an unreasonable amount of delay, trouble or expense in being made answerable to justice".
(iii) In so far as renewal of a trophy dealer's permit was within the discretion of the Director of Wildlife, the plaintiff could not claim the loss of the permit a consequential loss of his wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.
