Thomson CJ:

delivering the judgment of the Court: This appellant was convicted in the High Court at Ipoh on 28 October 1958, for four offences of criminal breach of trust in contravention of s. 408 of the Penal) Code and three offences of falsification of accounts in contravention of s. 477A. He was sentenced to terms of imprisonment amounting in all to four years. He has now appealed against his convictions and his sentences.

The only ground of appeal that has been argued before us is that the charges against the appellant were joined and tried together in contravention of the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code and that therefore by reason of the effect attributed to these provisions in the well known case of Subramania Ayyar v. King-Emperor 28 IA 257, PC the convictions should be set aside.

On the view we have formed as to the question actually involved in the appeal and before considering the actual charges on which the appellant was tried it is desirable to the nature of the prosecution case.

Towards the end of 1957 it was discovered that in the books of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank at Ipoh there was a very considerable discrepancy between the