[13] Dalam kes Balachandran v Public Prosecutor (supra), Augustine Paul JCA (pada ketika itu) yang menyampaikan keputusan Mahkamah Persekutuan telah menjelaskan maksud kes prima facie dan tujuan penggubalan seksyen 180 KTJ seperti yang berikut: “[21] Section 180(1) makes it clear that the standard of proof on the prosecution at the close of its case is to make out a prima facie case while s 182A(1) enunciates that at the conclusion of the trial the court shall consider all the evidence adduced and decide whether the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The standard of proof on the prosecution at the end of its case and at the end of the whole case has thus been statutorily spelt out in clear terms. The submission made must therefore be ratiocinated against the background of the meaning of the phrase ‘prima facie case’ in s 180. Section 180(2) provides that the court shall record an order of acquittal if a prima facie case has not been made out while s 180(3) provides that if a prima facie case has been made out the accused shall be called upon to enter his defence. A prima facie case is therefore one that is sufficient for the accused to be called upon to answer. This in turn means that the evidence adduced must be such that it can be overthrown only by evidence in rebuttal. The phrase ‘prima facie case’ is defined in similar terms in Mozley and Whiteley’s Law Dictionary 11th Ed as: A litigating party is said to have a prima facie case when the evidence in his favour is sufficiently strong for his opponent to be called on to answer it. A prima facie case, then, is one which is established by sufficient evidence, and can be overthrown only by rebutting evidence adduced by the other side. [22] The result is that the force of the evidence adduced must be such that, if unrebutted, it is sufficient to induce the court to believe in the existence of the facts stated in the charge or to consider its existence so probable that a prudent man ought to act upon the supposition that those facts exist or did happen. On the other hand if a prima facie case has not been made out it means that there is no material evidence which can be believed in the sense as described earlier. In order to make a finding either way the court must, at the close of the case for the prosecution, undertake a positive evaluation of the credibility and reliability of all the evidence adduced so as to determine whether the elements of the offence have been established. As the trial is without a jury it is only with such a positive evaluation can the court make a determination for the purpose of s 180(2) and (3). Of course in a jury trial where the evaluation is hypothetical the question to be asked would be whether on the evidence as it stands the accused could (and not must) lawfully be convicted. That is so because a determination on facts is a matter for ultimate decision by the jury at the end of the trial. Since the court, in ruling that a prima facie case has been made out, must be satisfied that the evidence adduced can be overthrown only by evidence in rebuttal it follows that if it is not rebutted it must prevail. Thus if the accused elects to remain silent he must be convicted. The test at the close of the case for the prosecution would therefore be: Is the evidence sufficient to convict the accused if he elects to remain silent? If the answer is in the affirmative then a prima facie case has been made out. This must, as of necessity, require a consideration of the existence of any reasonable doubt in the case for the prosecution. If there is any such doubt there can be no prima facie case.”. [Penekanan ditambah] [14] Dalam kes Abdullah Atan v. PP & Other Appeals (supra) pula, melalui penghakiman yang disampaikan oleh Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat CJ, Mahkamah Persekutuan mentafsirkan prima facie seperti yang berikut: “[44] As to what constitutes ‘a prima facie’ case, the judgment of Vincent Ng J (as he then was) in PP v. Ong Cheng Heong [1998] 4 CLJ 209 is instructive. Although Ong Cheng Heong (supra) was decided prior to the amendment in 2006, we respectfully endorse His Lordship’s views, at p. 225: What then constitutes a ‘prima facie case’? ‘Prima facie’ means on the face of it or at first glance. ... perhaps the most appropriate definition of ‘a prima facie case’ could be found in the Oxford Companion of Law (p. 987), which has it as: “A case which is sufficient for an answer. While prima facie evidence is evidence which is sufficient to establish a fact in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, but is not conclusive”. It would follow that there should be credible evidence on each and every ingredient of the offence. Credible evidence is evidence which has been filtered and which has gone through the process of evaluation. Any evidence which is not safe to be acted upon, should be rejected. (emphasis added) At p. 224, His Lordship said: ... to me, maximum evaluation simply means evaluation, on a prima facie basis, of each and every essential ingredient of the charge as tested in cross-examination. In other words, maximum evaluation connotes quantitative rather than qualitative evaluation of the evidence; with focus more on the evidential burden in terms of evidence led, rather than the persuasive burden in terms of qualitative degree of proof.”. [Penekanan ditambah] [15] Berdasarkan nas-nas undang-undang di atas boleh dirumuskan bahawa tugas Mahkamah di akhir kes pendakwaan ialah membuat penilaian maksimum terhadap setiap keterangan yang dikemukakan oleh pihak pendakwaan berkenaan dengan intipati penting sesuatu pertuduhan dan menentukan sama ada pihak pendakwaan berjaya membuktikan suatu kes prima facie terhadap tertuduh, iaitu jika tertuduh dipanggil untuk membela diri dan tertuduh memilih untuk berdiam diri, adakah keterangan-keterangan prima facie tersebut cukup untuk membuktikan bahawa tertuduh telah melakukan kesalahan tersebut melampaui keraguan yang munasabah dan seterusnya cukup untuk mensabitkan tertuduh dengan pertuduhan tersebut. [16] Dalam kes ini, setelah menimbangkan segala fakta kes dan keterangan yang dikemukakan oleh saksi-saksi pendakwaan, HMS mendapati pihak pendakwaan telah gagal membuktikan suatu kes prima facie terhadap OKT bagi kedua-dua kesalahan tersebut dan oleh yang demikian, OKT telah dilepas dan dibebaskan daripada kedua-dua Pertuduhan tersebut. Sebagaimana yang dinyatakan dalam Alasan Penghakiman HMS, keputusan tersebut dibuat berdasarkan dapatan berikut: “ADAKAH PERBUATAN CUBAAN MEMBUNUH ITU DILAKUKAN