Lord Donovan J:

The appellant was convicted in the High Court of Kuala Lumpur on 22 November 1962 of rape and sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment. His appeal to the Court of Appeal at Kuala Lumpur was dismissed on 24 January 1963.

By order of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dated 26 February 1964 he was granted special leave to appeal to the Board.

The appellant, who is of Chinese origin, is the proprietor of a retail business in Kuala Lumpur, where he has lived since 1940. His age was apparently not given in evidence, or at any rate is not recorded. The complainant was one Philomena Lim, a married woman, aged twenty-eight at the time, with a husband aged forty, and with three young children. At the time of the alleged offence she had been married nine years. Her husband was a civil servant in Kuala Lumpur. The complainant was a typist for the first four years of her married life. Since then her sole occupation has been that of a housewife and mother.

The appellant first met the complainant on 4 May 1962 at a club in Kuala Lumpur, being introduced to her by a Mrs. Roberts who was a common acquaintance. The evening was spent dancing and taking refreshment.