Criminal Procedure Code · Updated to 1 May 2023 · Chapter XXIV · General Provisions as to Inquiries and Trials
256. Court may put questions to accused
Feedback & supportFor the purpose of enabling the accused to explain any circumstances appearing in the evidence against him, the Court may at any stage of a trial, without previously warning the accused, put such questions to him as the Court considers necessary.
Court
“Court” means the High Court, a Sessions Court, or a Magistrate’s Court of any class, as the context may require;
For the purpose of this section the accused shall not be sworn and he shall not render himself liable to punishment by refusing to answer the questions or by giving false answers to them, but the Court may draw such inference from the refusal or answers as it thinks just.
The answers given by the accused may be taken into consideration in the trial and put in evidence for or against him in any other trial for any other offence which those answers may tend to show he has committed.
offence
“offence” means any act or omission made punishable by any law for the time being in force;
The examination of the accused shall be for the purpose of enabling him to explain any circumstances appearing in evidence against him and shall not be a general examination on whatever suggests itself to the Court.
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The discretion given by this section for questioning an accused shall not be exercised for the purpose of inducing him to make statements criminatory of himself.
It shall only be exercised for the purpose of ascertaining from an accused how he may be able to meet facts disclosed in evidence against him so that those facts may not stand against him unexplained.
Questions shall not be put to the accused merely to supplement the case for the prosecution when it is defective.
Whenever the accused is examined under this section by any Court other than the High Court the whole of the examination including every question put to him and every answer given by him shall be recorded in full by the courts in Peninsular Malaysia in national language and by the courts in Sabah and Sarawak in English language, and the record shall be shown or read to him or, if he does not understand the national language or the English language, as the case may be, shall be interpreted to him in a language which he understands, and he shall be at liberty to explain or add to his answers.
When the whole has been made conformable to what the accused declares to be the truth the record shall be signed by the presiding Magistrate.