Section 32

when the statement is made by a person as to the cause of his death, or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his death, in cases in which the cause of that person’s death comes into question.

Such a statement is relevant whether the person who made it was or was not at the time when it was made under expectation of death, and whatever may be the nature of the proceeding in which the cause of his death comes into question;

when the statement was made by any such person in the ordinary course of business, and in particular when it consists of any entry or memorandum made by him in books kept in the ordinary course of business or in the discharge of professional duty; or of an acknowledgment written or signed by him of the receipt of money, goods, securities or property of any kind; or of a document used in commerce, written or signed by him, or of the date of a letter or other document usually dated, written or signed by him;

Evidence 35

when the statement is against the pecuniary or proprietary interest of the person making it, or when, if true, it would expose him or would have exposed him to a criminal prosecution or to a suit for damages;

when the statement gives the opinion of any such person as to the existence of any public right or custom or matter of public or general interest, of the existence of which if it existed he would have been likely to be aware, and when the statement was made before any controversy as to the right, custom or matter had arisen;

when the statement relates to the existence of any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption between persons as to whose relationship by blood, marriage or adoption the person making the statement had special means of knowledge, and when the statement was made before the question in dispute was raised;

when the statement relates to the existence of any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption between persons deceased, and is made in any will or deed relating to the affairs of the family to which any such deceased person belonged, or in any family pedigree or upon any tombstone, family portrait or other thing on which such statements are usually made, and when the statement was made before the question in dispute was raised;

when the statement is contained in any document which relates to any transaction as is mentioned in paragraph 13(a);

when the statement was made by a number of persons and expressed feelings or impressions on their part relevant to the matter in question;

when the statement was made in the course of, or for the purposes of, an investigation or inquiry into an offence under or by virtue of any written law; and

where the statement was made by a public officer in the discharge of his duties.

Act 56

The question is whether A was murdered by B; or

A dies of injuries received in a transaction in the course of which she was ravished.

The question is whether she was ravished by B; or

The question is whether A was killed by B under circumstances that a suit would lie against B by A’s widow.

Statements made by A as to the cause of his or her death, referring respectively to the murder, the rape and the actionable wrong under consideration, are relevant facts.

The question is as to the date of A’s birth.

An entry in the diary of a deceased surgeon regularly kept in the course of business, stating that on a given day he attended A’s mother and delivered her of a son, is a relevant fact.

The question is whether A was in Kuala Lumpur on a given day.

A statement in the diary of a deceased advocate regularly kept in the course of business that on a given day the advocate attended A at a place mentioned in Kuala Lumpur for the purpose of conferring with him upon specified business is a relevant fact.

The question is whether a ship sailed from Penang harbour on a given day.

A letter written by a deceased member of a merchant’s firm by which she was chartered to their correspondents in London, to whom the cargo was consigned, stating that the ship sailed on a given day from Penang harbour is a relevant fact.

The question is whether rent was paid to A for certain land.

A letter from A’s deceased agent to B, saying that he had received the rent on A’s account and held it at A’s orders, is a relevant fact.

The question is whether A and B were legally married.

The statement of a deceased clergyman that he married them under circumstances that the celebration would be a crime is relevant.

The question is whether A, a person who cannot be found, wrote a letter on a certain day.

The fact that a letter written by him is dated on that day is relevant.

Evidence 37

The question is what was the cause of the wreck of a ship?

A protest made by the captain, whose attendance cannot be procured, is a relevant fact.

The question is whether a given road is a public way.

A statement by A, a deceased Penghulu of the Mukim, that the road was public is a relevant fact.

The question is what was the price of shares on a certain day in particular market.

A statement of the price made by a deceased broker in the ordinary course of his business is a relevant fact.

The question is whether A, who is dead, was the father of B.

A statement by A that B was his son is a relevant fact.

The question is what was the date of the birth of A?

A letter from A’s deceased father to a friend, announcing the birth of A on a given day, is a relevant fact.

The question is whether and when A and B were married.

An entry in a memorandum book by C, the deceased father of B, of his daughter’s marriage with A on a given date, is a relevant fact.

A sues B for a libel expressed in a printed caricature exposed in a shop window.

The question is as to the similarity of the caricature and its libellous character.

The remarks of a crowd of spectators on these points may be proved.

The provisions of paragraphs (1)(i) and (j) shall apply only in relation to a criminal proceeding.

Admissibility of evidence given under section 265a of the

Criminal Procedure Code 32a.  Notwithstanding any other provision in this Act, evidence taken in accordance with section 265a of the Criminal Procedure

Code [Act 593] shall be admissible in any criminal proceedings.

Act 56

Relevancy of certain evidence for proving in subsequent proceeding the truth of facts therein stated