Thomson LP:

This is yet another appeal arising out of the Indonesian invasion near Labis during the night of first/second September 1964. The appellant was thought to have participated in that invasion and in consequence he was prosecuted on the following three charges under the Internal Security Act, 1960:

First Charge: That you between 2.00 a.m. on the second day of September and 6.00 a.m. on 11 September 1964, in a Security Area as proclaimed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong vide FLN 245 of 17 August, 1964, namely Tenang Kampong, Labis, in the district of Segamat, in the State of Johore, consorted with members of the Indonesian armed forces who carried firearms and ammunitions in contravention of the provisions of s. 57(1) of the Internal Security Act, 1960, in circumstances which raised a reasonable presumption that you intended to act with such members of the said Indonesian armed forces in a manner prejudicial to public security and that you have thereby committed an offence punishable under s. 58 (1) of the said Act.

Second Charge: That you at about 2.00 a.m. on 2 September 1964, in a Security Area as proclaimed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong vide FLN 245 of 17 August 1964, namely Tenang Kampong, Labis, in the district of Segamat, in the State of Johore, without lawful excuse carried a firearm, to wit, a LEE ENFIELD RIFLE, without lawful authority and that you have thereby committed an offence punishable under s. 57 (1) (a) of the Internal Security Act, 1960.

Third Charge: That you at about 2.00 a.m. on 2 September 1964, in a Security Area as proclaimed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong vide FLN 245 of 17 August 1964, namely Tenang Kampong, Labis, in the district of Segamat, in the State

of Johore, without lawful excuse had in your possession 200 rounds of ammunition without lawful authority and that you have thereby committed an offence punishable under s. 57(1) (b) of the Internal Security Act, 1960.

With regard to the first of these charges, the dates are wrong and the charge was at no time amended but, as was pointed out in Law Kiat Lang V. Public Prosecutor [1965] this is without importance. As was said by Atkin J in the case of Severo Dossi [1918], 13 Cr App R 158, 159.

From time immemorial a date specified in an indictment has never been a material matter unless it is actually an essential part of the alleged offence.

The appellant was convicted on all three charges and sentenced to death. Against these convictions he has now appealed.

The appellant was arrested on 13 September 1964, at Taiping, some 300 miles north of Labis and his trial commenced on 5 September 1965.

The prosecution case was based on the evidence of three Indonesian prisoners of war and a statement alleged to have been made voluntarily by the appellant to the police at Labis on 22 September 1964.

Sutikno Tjetrosumarto said he was a Lieutenant in the Indonesian Air Force and was at present a prisoner of war. He joined the army in 1945 and in 1950 was transferred to the air force in which he became a company commander. In February 1964, his company was in training for "confrontation" against Malaysia, and in July he was transferred to the island of Karimun to train Chinese who had come from Malaysia in the use of firearms and explosives for a campaign the purposes of which were to come to Malaysia to "liberate" the people and, by such acts of sabotage as blowing up roads and bridges, to disrupt the economy of the country.

On 1 September at Djakarta he mustered a party of 48 persons including 14 Chinese from Malaysia. They left by aircraft for Medan where they rested for a few hours. About midnight the aircraft left Medan and about 2 a.m. they dropped by parachute and landed in Johore; he did not know exactly where he had landed but next morning he looked at his map and found it was in the Tenang area. They were all in uniform and each of them carried food, clothing, medicine, $300 in Malaysian currency, a firearm, two handgrenades and at