Evidence Act 1950 · Updated to 1 Nov 2017 · Chapter V
65. Cases in which secondary evidence relating to documents may be given
Feedback & supportSecondary evidence may be given of the existence, condition or contents of a document admissible in evidence in the following cases:
evidence
“evidence” includes— (a) all statements which the court permits or requires to be made before it by witnesses in relation to matters of fact under inquiry: such statements are called oral evidence; (b) all documents produced for the inspection of the court: such documents are called documentary evidence;
when the original is shown or appears to be in the possession or power—
of the person against whom the document is sought to be proved;
of any person out of reach of or not subject to the process of the court; or
of any person legally bound to produce it, and when after the notice mentioned in section 66 such person does not produce it;
when the existence, condition or contents of the original have been proved to be admitted in writing by the person against whom it is proved or by his representative in interest;
when the original has been destroyed or lost, or when the party offering evidence of its contents cannot for any other reason not arising from his own default or neglect produce it in reasonable time;
when the original is of such a nature as not to be easily movable;
when the original is a public document within the meaning of section 74;
when the original is a document of which a certified copy is permitted by this Act or by any other law in force for the time being in Malaysia to be given in evidence;
when the originals consist of numerous accounts or other documents which cannot conveniently be examined in court, and the fact to be proved is the general result of the whole collection.
In the cases referred to in paragraphs (1)(a), (c) and (d)
any secondary evidence of the contents of the document is admissible.
document
“document” means any matter expressed, described, or howsoever represented, upon any substance, material, thing or article, including any matter embodied in a disc, tape, film, sound-track or other device whatsoever, by means of— (a) letters, figures, marks, symbols, signals, signs, or other forms of expression, description, or representation whatsoever; (b) any visual recording (whether of still or moving images); (c) any sound recording, or any electronic, magnetic, mechanical or other recording whatsoever and howsoever made, or any sounds, electronic impulses, or other data whatsoever; (d) a recording, or transmission, over a distance of any matter by any, or any combination, of the means mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), or by more than one of the means mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d), intended to be used or which may be used for the purpose of expressing, describing, or howsoever representing, that matter; A writing is a document. Words printed, lithographed or photographed are documents. A map, plan, graph or sketch is a document. Evidence 15 An inscription on wood, metal, stone or any other substance, material or thing is a document. A drawing, painting, picture or caricature is a document. A photograph or a negative is a document. A tape recording of a telephonic communication, including a recording of such communication transmitted over distance, is a document. A photographic or other visual recording, including a recording of a photographic or other visual transmission over a distance, is a document. A matter recorded, stored, processed, retrieved or produced by a computer is a document;
In the case referred to in paragraph (1)(b) the written admission is admissible.
In the case referred to in paragraph (1)(e) or (f) a certified copy of the document but no other kind of secondary evidence is admissible.
In the case referred to in paragraph (1)(g) evidence may be given as to the general result of the documents by any person who has examined them and who is skilled in the examination of such documents.