Under s 281(1)(a) Criminal Procedure Act 1986, a statement by an accused that he 'wanted to give her poison' does not, without more, provide a factual basis for suspecting the accused had committed an offence of attempting to administer poison, where the statement does not indicate that the accused in fact attempted to do so. An accused's refusal of a general request for a recorded interview constitutes a reasonable excuse under s 281(2)(a)(ii) even where the specific admissions were not put to the accused. A trial judge's reference to the possibility of a majority verdict in the initial summing-up does not undermine a Black direction where the jury is given no indication of when a majority verdict might become permissible.
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