The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant's appeal against conviction, holding that where an accused did not qualify the plea of guilty when arraigned and did not object or demur when counsel recounted instructions at sentencing, withdrawal of the guilty plea was not warranted. The Court allowed the Attorney-General's appeal against sentence, substituting a sentence of seven years' imprisonment and declaring the offence a serious violent offence, on the basis that the original sentence was manifestly inadequate given the respondent's extensive criminal history, persistence in wielding a potentially lethal weapon despite calls to desist, the severity of injuries inflicted, the attempt to evade police, and the public nature of the attack.
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