PART VII
PROCEDURE IN TRIALS BEFORE SUBORDINATE COURTS

251. Plea of guilty

(1) When an accused appears or is brought before a court, a charge containing the particulars of the offence of which he is accused shall be read and explained to him and he shall be asked whether he admits or denies the truth of the charge.

(2) If the accused admits the truth of the charge his admission shall be recorded as nearly as possible in the words used by him and he may be convicted and sentenced thereon :
Provided that before a plea of guilty is recorded, the court shall ascertain that the accused understands the nature and consequences of his plea and intends to admit without qualification the truth of the charge against him.

PART VII
PROCEDURE IN TRIALS BEFORE SUBORDINATE COURTS

252A. Rules relating to plea bargaining

(1) The Chief Justice may make rules that shall permit parties to enter into plea bargaining where appropriate.

(2) For the purposes of this section “plea bargaining” means the process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval and it includes —

(a) the defendant pleading guilty to a lesser offence ; or
(b) the defendant pleading guilty to only one or more counts of a charge.

PART X
TRIALS BEFORE THE HIGH COURT

303. Commencement of trial in the High Court : plea and directions hearing

(4) Where the accused admits the truth of the charge his admission shall be recorded as nearly as possible in the words used by him and he may be convicted and sentenced thereon.