Gopal Sri Ram JCA:

The appellant was convicted by the Sessions Court at Ipoh of an offence under s. 193 of the Penal Code and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one month and a fine of RM2,000, or in default a term of imprisonment of two weeks. His appeal to the High Court against conviction and sentence was dismissed. He then appealed to this court. At the conclusion of arguments we allowed the appeal.

The reasons for our decision now follow.

The prosecution's case against the appellant is that he fabricated false evidence, the sting of the charge being that he affirmed an affidavit that contained false statements which was filed in a suit he instituted in the Ipoh High Court.

The portions complained of read as follows:

During the period the defendant by the use of a hidden video camera secretly videotaped me in embarrassing situations without my knowledge and has spliced in video images from pornographic tapes to create a composite image.

By the said publication I have been made out to as a person who has acted in pornographic tapes.

It may, for completeness be mentioned here that an alternative charge under s. 199 of the Penal Code was also preferred against the