Procedural and Evidentiary Implications of Re-Examining a Co-Accused as Both Prosecution and Defense Witness in a Robbery Trial
According to the investigation record, the accused jointly deceived a taxi driver into transporting them to a secluded area, where they used a knife to threaten and forcibly take cash from the victim. The public prosecutor subsequently charged the accused with robbery.
During trial, the victim was called as the first prosecution witness and testified to additional facts not previously detailed in the investigation, thereby strengthening the prosecution’s case.
Later, in the defense stage, one of the accused sought to call several witnesses, including a co-accused who had already testified as a prosecution witness.
This raises a critical procedural and evidentiary issue: whether a person who has testified as a prosecution witness may subsequently be examined as a defense witness, and if so, the extent to which such testimony affects credibility, weight of evidence, and fairness of proceedings.